FRESNO, Calif. – The first conference match of the 2021 PacWest women's soccer season was won by Point Loma, which defeated Fresno Pacific 2-0 with goals by Abby Schmidt and Alana Diaz on Saturday night at Ramirez Field as the Sea Lions extended their unbeaten streak in the PacWest to 28 matches.
 
The two-time PacWest defending champions opened their campaign for a threepeat in style by shutting out the Sunbirds to improve to 4-0-1 on the season and 1-0 in the PacWest. Point Loma has now won 77 PacWest matches in program history, which is the most for any active PacWest member. Fresno Pacific drops to 0-6 and 0-1 in the PacWest.
 
Point Loma dominated possession throughout the 90 minutes producing 14 shots and six on goal. It was the fourth of those shots that resulted what ended up being the game-winning goal by Schmidt. She shot from the right side of the six-yard box across to the other side of the net for an unassisted goal. It was her second goal of the season.
 
Diaz provided some insurance for the Sea Lions, who were voted the preseason favorite in the PacWest. She received a pass from Kourtney Kessler and then shot from the corner of the box and scored into the top-left corner of the goal for a 2-0 lead.
 
The defense did a brilliant job, holding the Sunbirds to only five shots in the match, and only one of those shots was on goal. Emma Hinson saved that one shot on frame as she recorded yet another shutout. It is her second this season and the 23^rd of her career.
 
The Sea Lions will next play at Concordia on Wednesday in a non-conference match at 3 p.m. Then the Sea Lions return home on October 2 to host Academy of Art in the second PacWest match. Point Loma is one of eight teams in the West Region with four wins already this season.