WAIPAHU, Hawai'i – Hawai'i Pacific University got two second half goals from Josch Cuerten on Senior Day as the Sharks closed the season with a 2-1 PacWest Conference win over Fresno Pacific on Saturday afternoon at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.
 
The Sharks (6-8-3, 4-7-2) won their final two games of the season. The Sunbirds (8-10-0, 7-6-0) had a three-game winning streak snapped by HPU.
 
The first half was scoreless, with both squads having opportunities get by with shots off the goal posts, cross bar and blocks.
 
But the 0-0 tie was broken by HPU senior and leading scorer Cuerten of Cologne, Germany, who scored both of his goals within four minutes.
 
In the 56th minute, the Sunbirds were whistled for a foul following an HPU corner kick inside the 18-yard box that drew a penalty kick. Cuerten calmly blasted it in the lower left corner past Fresno Pacific goal keeper Patrick Timmer for the 1-0 lead.
 
Then in the 60th minute, Cuerten stole the ball from a Sunbird defender in the HPU offensive side of midfield, dribbled in from the left to beat Timmer on a one-on-one to give HPU a 2-0 lead.
 
Timmer racked up four saves over the next 15 minutes as the Sharks continued to pepper the goal.
 
But Fresno Pacific would get an answer in the 80th minute. After taking the ball near midfield, FPU's Fellipe Souza hit a one-time pass from the right side to Sunbird Bruno Brumati in front of the net. Brumati directed it into the next to put Fresno on the board at 2-1.
 
FPU had a shot and two corners in the last 10 minutes, but could not get by the stifling Shark defense.
 
HPU sophomore Chandler Schur of Fayetteville, Pa./Chambersburg, got his second win in as many games after taking over for injured senior keeper Daniel Arnoll of Verrieres-le-Buisson, France. Schur recorded three saves against 11 shots by FPU.
 
FPU's Timmer posted nine saves and the two goals allowed while facing 21 HPU shots.
 
The contest ended the season and was the final game for Cuerten, Arnoll, defender Nahoa Salera of Honolulu/Kamehameha-Kapalama, defender Dean Phillips of Kahului, Hawai'i/Feather River, midfielder Matthew Fronda of Mililani, Hawai'i/Miliani, defender Yuki Yamamoto of Tokyo, Japan, midfielder Christopher Galang of Aiea, Hawai'i/Mililani, and defender Mario Garcia of Leganes, Spain.