FRESNO, Calif.--- In a tale of two halves, it was the Fresno Pacific defeating the visiting Stan State 1-0 this evening in a battle of Central Valley rivals at FPU's Reeder Field in Fresno, Calif. Julian Aran Martin scored what proved to be the game winning in the 78
th minute off a cross from Lucas Ribeiro for the Sunbirds.
FIRST HALF: Stan State (1-3) controlled the first half as the Warriors out-shot its hosts 6-1. Chris Macias recorded the first shot on goal attempt of the first half in the ninth minute when
Robby Rosas snagged the attempt to keep the match scoreless. In the 25
th minute,
Edgar Castaneda had a chance to give the Warriors the 1-0 lead, but the Sunbirds' Elmer Carballo stopped the attempt. With eight minutes left in the half,
Sammy Villanueva's shot attempt sailed high as the match went into the half scoreless between the two Central Valley rivals.
SECOND HALF: The Warriors looked like they were going to take the lead in the 51
st minute when
Alecxander Cuellar's shot sailed right of the goal to keep the match scoreless. Fresno Pacific (2-3) had a chance for the lead in the 61
st minute when Lucas Ribeiros' shot went high over the goal.
Robby Rosas made one of his five saves by stopping Ribeiros' shot on goal attempt in the 71
st and made another one in the 75
th minute. He made another one minute later, but in the 78
th minute the Sunbirds took the 1-0 lead on a goal by Julian Aran Martin off a ball from Lucas Ribeiro. Stan State had two chances in the 80
th minute when
Alecxander Cuellar's shot on goal was stopped by Elmer Carballo and
Sammy Villanueva's shot sailed wide of the goal. In the final ten minutes of the match, neither team had a shot attempt as Fresno Pacific took the 1-0 non-conference victory.
STATS: Stan State outshot the Sunbirds 10-9 including 6-1 in the first half. Fresno Pacific held a 6-2 advantage in shot on goal attempts including 5-1 in the second half. The Sunbirds also held a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Robby Rosas had five saves in goal for the Warriors. Elmer Carballo had two saves in goal for FPU.
UP NEXT: The Warriors will host Hawai'i Pacific this Saturday, September 16 at 7pm in their home opener of the 2023 season. This will be the beginning of a four-match home stand for Stan State.
