FRESNO — Rodrigo Vianna and Paul Islas each scored two goals as top seed Fresno Pacific beat Trinity Lutheran 5-1 to eliminate the Eagles from the National Christian College Athletic Association West Region men’s soccer playoffs on Thursday night.
Vianna assisted on Gustavo Silva’s opening goal in the sixth minute before heading in a cross from Alvaro Nogales a minute later to give Fresno Pacific an early 2-0 lead.
The fourth-seeded Eagles then turned up the pressure, forcing Sunbirds goalkeeper Fabian Rangel to make three saves, including back-to-back stops on shots from Jesus Lires and Cesar Gonzalez. However the sequence sparked a Fresno Pacific counterattack and Islas converted the opportunity in the 25th minute. The senior forward added his second goal in the 43rd to kill off any hope of a comeback.
Trinity Lutheran finally broke through in the 84th minute when senior midfielder Carlos Camacho scored off a cross from Lires. Vianna completed the scoring with his second goal of the match from a free kick in the 89th.
Eagles’ freshman goalkeeper Daniel Nadeau, a Shorewood High School graduate, made three saves as a substitute.
Trinity Lutheran finished the season with with a record of 13-7-1.
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