Tuesday, October 4, 2005 - GSAC Game #3

Final: Hope International 1, Sunbirds 0

Box score

Fresno -Blake Etherton accounted for the offense and Garrett Arechiga handled the defense as the visiting Hope International University Royals stunned the host Sunbirds 1-0 in Golden State Athletic Conference play at Steinert Field tonight.

Etherton was Johnny-on-the-spot picking up a loose ball in a goal mouth scramble and punching it past Josh Ollenberger. It was the only goal of the match and came in the 51st minute.

Then it was Arechiga's turn. The Royals goalkeeper was credited with only two saves on the evening to record the shutout. His big save came in the 64th minute when the Royals were whistled for a foul inside the penalty area.

FPU's leading scorer, Amaury Nunes, took the penalty kick, low and hard to goalkeeper's right., but Arechiga dove with the ball and brushed it harmlessly out of harms way.

"I saw him look to my left," said Arechiga. "They never go where they look. So I dove right and got it."

The win, their first in eight contests with FPU, lifts the Royals record to 7-3-0 overall and 2-1-0 in GSAC play.

The Sunbirds, who slip to 3-3-2 overall and 2-1-0 in GSAC play, will be in San Diego this Saturday to take on the Point Loma Nazarene University Sea Lions. Kick-off time is 12:00 noon.

Updated Records
Hope International: 7-3-0, 2-1-0
Fresno Pacific: 3-3-2, 2-1-0

Updated Series Record
This will be the eighth meeting of the two teams in the series... tonight's win is the first in eight matches for the Royals

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Fresno Pacific University offers undergraduate and graduate programs that stress solid academic preparation and a strong ethical foundation. Each year more than 2,000 traditional and adult students attend classes on the 42-acre main campus in southeast Fresno or centers in Visalia and Bakersfield. The university also reaches 12,000 students across the nation and around the world through professional development studies programs. The only four-year Christian university in the Central Valley, FPU is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and ranked in the top quarter among Western universities master's category by U.S. News & World Report.