Thursday, October 27, 2005
Final - #15 Sunbirds 3, #6 Azusa Pacific 2

Box score

Fresno - Adrian Alvarado's golden goal at 1:06:11 lifted the15th-ranked Fresno Pacific University Sunbirds to a 3-2 overtime win over the 6th-ranked Cougars of Azusa Pacific University on a cool, wet, evening at Steinert Field.

FPU took an early lead (at 8:35) on Adam Arteaga's first goal of the season. Arteaga fired a point-blank shot that APU goalkeeper Morgan Cathey blocked, but the rebound came right back to Arteaga. He made no mistake on the second opportunity.

Fourteen minutes later, Amaury Nunes, FPU's leading scorer, notched his 17th of the season on a penalty kick after being hauled down in the box. Nunes drove it low and to his left past Cathey.

That made it 2-0, but Ian Leibbrandt headed in Skelly Kellar's service on a set piece just five minutes later.

It stayed 2-1 until Damon Brooks tied it at 69:39. The ball found its way to his foot in a wild scramble set up by a Cougars corner kick.

Kellar could have ended for the Cougars it in the first minute of the second overtime period. He dribbled the ball across the top of the 18, then fired a hard, low, shot. He was stoned by FPU senior goalkeeper Oscar Rodriguez, who made and outstanding save on the point-blank shot.

Six minutes later it was over. FPU's winning goal started deep in their own zone when senior defender Jared Dugger broke up an APU rush.

Dugger sent the ball up the left flank to Nunes. Nunes carried it 30 yards, drew a couple of defenders, then threaded a pass to Pradeep Naina in the center of the field. Naina redirected it to Alvarado at the corner of the 18. Alvarado took a split second to settle the ball, then fired a hard, rising, shot to the far post. Cathey dove right and got a hand on the ball, but it found the deep, high, corner of the net.

As Alvarado was mobbed by teammates, the decidedly FPU crowd (estimated at 300) erupted into wild cheering.

"We showed a lot of heart tonight," said a very pleased FPU head coach Jaime Ramirez. "Our seniors did a terrific job all night. They really wanted it, and eventually we punched one in."

The win lifted FPU's record to 9-4-2 on the season and 8-1-0 in State Athletic Conference play. The Cougars fell to 14-4-0 overall and 7-3-0 in GSAC play.

Alvarado's second goal of the season did much more than give the Sunbirds a dramatic win on Senior Night- it clinched a share of the 2005 Golden State Athletic Conference title.

The Sunbirds, who wrap up GSAC play in Irvine on Saturday against Concordia (11-6-0, 7-2-0), can claim the title outright with a win or a tie.

Regardless of Saturday's outcome, the Sunbirds will likely host a Region 2 quarterfinal on Wednesday, November 2.

Senior Night
Tonight's game was the final regular season home match for FPU seniors Paul Moran, Jared Dugger, Adam Arteaga, Oscar Rodriguez, Hector Santillan and Josh Ollenberger.

Updated Records
#6 Azusa Pacific: 14-4-0, 7-3-0 GSAC
#15 Fresno Pacific: 9-4-3, 8-1-0 GSAC

Updated Series Record
FPU leads the series 22-16-3... In the past 10 matches the Sunbirds hold a slim 5-4-1 advantage.

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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.