Fresno, CALIF. -- Dominican University of California men's soccer (11-5-0. 7-1-0) stunned Fresno Pacific University (3-11-2, 1-7-1) with a trio of second half goals to defeat the Sunbirds 3-2 in Fresno. 

Dominican fell victim to an early goal for the second straight game when Gabriel Monteiro beat senior keeper Alejandro Reyes in the 6th minute of the match, putting the Penguins at an early disadvantage. Junior Aboubacar Cisse tallied Dominican's first shot on target in the 25th minute, but the slow roller was easily corralled by the Sunbirds' keeper. It was mostly a possession game from here on out with neither team able to gain a heavy advantage on the statsheet or scoreboard, with the halftime horn eventually buzzing as the score read 1-0. 

The pattern of Dominican's early starts continued in the second half when FPU doubled its lead just 90 seconds into the frame when Lucas Ribeiro sent a cross-body shot to the left post, beating an outstretched Reyes. 

Penguin sophomore Lex Bernier decided to take matters into his own hands, starting in the 66th minute when a pass from senior Eddie Silverbush went unscathed from coast to coast in the box, finding Bernier's right foot. Bernier wasted no time in cutting the lead in half as he put the ball past the Sunbirds keeper who looked as if he was trying to understand what just happened, setting the score to 2-1. Bernier found the twine again just four minutes later when he received a short pass from Cisse before sending it on goal from the top of the box. The ball exchanged pleasantries with the crossbar before nestling itself into the back of the net, tying the game at 2-2. 

The Penguins' third and final goal came in the 79th minute after senior Elias Muro was dragged down by the Fresno Pacific keeper after Muro intercepted the keepers kick and raced towards the goal. In a last ditch effort to save the sure-goal, the keeper latched onto Muro's arm and brought him to the turf, leaving the official with his easiest decision on the day as he gave Dominican a penalty kick. Brian Sanchez did as Brian Sanchez does, burying the penalty kick and eventually giving Dominican the win, but not before some rough stuff ensued as Sanchez was the recipient of a pair of open-handed slaps to the top of the head that would put Fresno Pacific down a pair of men after receiving its first red card minutes earlier.