Fresno State Athletics
1997 Season Review
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
"Destination Unknown."
That was the theme for the 1997 menis soccer marketing poster, which was
pretty accurate since, with so many new players and a whole new coaching
staff, nobody really knew what to expect from the Bulldogs.
Eight letterwinners (including only one returning starter) returned from Fresno Stateis squad that won the WAC, advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament and finished the season ranked No. 8 in the nation in 1996. Those eight joined 14 other brand new players to form Fresno State's soccer program.
Despite all the new faces, Dave Chesler, Fresno State's new head coach - who was hired just a couple of weeks before the regular season - felt his team would be a contender to defend the WAC title and earn a spot in the 32-team NCAA Tournament.
Well, as it turns out, "Chez" was pretty close.
The Bulldogs ended their season at 11-7-2 after a 2-1 loss to Tulsa in the semifinals of the WAC tournament.
Fresno State had it tough right out of the gate, as it opened up the season with the University of Portland's tournament in Portland, Ore. To make matters worse, the Bulldogs drew the host Pilots in first match. The 'Dogs got off to a good start as forward Chad Brown, who Chesler brought to Fresno just days before the match, scored off a 25-yard free kick. Portland would rally to score three unanswered goals in the next 30 minutes of action and ended up winning 3-1.
The next match in the tournament was against Chesler's old team, the University of Washington. The Huskies were ranked No. 6 at the time and Chesler admitted he knew Washington better than the Bulldog squad he had just taken over. The final score: a 0-0 tie. However, Brown dislocated his elbow 10 minutes into the game, handing the Bulldogs an emotional loss.
Fresno State turned things around in the friendly confines of Bulldog Stadium, where the 'Dogs were hosting the 16th annual UMBRO/Goal Rush Classic. Fresno State picked up its first win of the season - and Chesler his first win of his collegiate coaching career - with a 6-0 rout of Northern Illinois. The team ended up securing its 11th Goal Rush title with a 2-1 overtime win over Butler.
After one-goal losses to St. Mary's and Cal State Bakersfield, it was time for the first of what turned out to be three trips to Las Vegas. The first trip to Las Vegas also marked the return of Brown who missed four matches with his dislocated elbow. Brownis returned sparked the Bulldogs as they ended up notching a pair of wins in the UNLV tournament, defeating Michigan State (3-1) and Kentucky (3-2).
The following weekend, the 'Dogs won their third in a row with a 4-0 trouncing at UC Santa Barbara. Two days later, they lost to UCLA - the eventual national champion - 2-0 in Los Angeles.
The 'Dogs had one final contest - against the University of San Francisco - before opening WAC play. Fresno Stated prevailed in the sunny Sunday afternoon contest, defeating the Dons 3-0.
Similar to the first match of the regular season, the WAC opener was a tough match for the Bulldogs. They lost a tough match on the road to Tulsa, 2-1.
The road weary Bulldogs, who had played five of their last six matches on the road, returned to Bulldog Stadium, but the task wasnit any easier. Fresno State's first home WAC match came against the fourth ranked SMU Mustangs. Although the 'Dogs played tough, the final scored was 3-0 in favor of SMU.
Two days later Fresno State would bounce back and pick up its first WAC victory. In a match that was the first Fresno State men's soccer match to be televised in nearly a decade, the Bulldogs pulled off a 2-1 overtime win against TCU. It turned out to be the start of a pretty good streak for them, one in which the 'Dogs went 5-0-1 in a six-match span.
The 'Dogs overcame a poor first half at San Diego State to beat the Aztecs 1-0 in San Diego, thanks to a scissor-kick goal by freshman Dana McGregor with less than two minutes to go in regulation. The team then traveled to Las Vegas for a match theyid like to forget: a 2-2 tie with UNLV.
The Bulldogs bounced right back from the tie at UNLV with two convincing wins in the last week of WAC play. First Fresno State picked up a decisive win at San Jose State, 2-0, then posted the same score against a heavily favored Air Force team in Fresno.
In a game that ended up being the difference between being the No. 2 seed in the WAC tournament and sitting at home, the Bulldogs pulled off a 2-1 overtime win over New Mexico in front of the third-largest crowd ever to see the menis soccer team at Bulldog Stadium (8,214).
Things were looking up for the Bulldogs. At 11-6-2, at least one win at the WAC tournament would give the team a good shot at a berth into the 32-team NCAA tournament.
The 'Dogs, seeded No. 2 in the tournament, faced No. 3 Tulsa in the first round. After a scoreless first half, the Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead when Jason Patterson scored after heading in Brownis free kick during the 61st minute. Fresno State seemed to have the game under control and with the PA announcer starting to count down the final seconds, it seemed as if the 'Dogs had the match won. But with one second left in regulation, Tulsa's Donivan Bradshaw scored to force the match into overtime.
The teams were scoreless in the first 15-minute overtime period, and as the PA announcer counted down towards the end of the second overtime period, it looked as if the teams were headed into sudden death overtime. But with five seconds left, the Golden Hurricane made a run at the Bulldogs' goal and with one second left, Bradshaw managed to score again to give Tulsa an unbelievable 2-1 win.
Unfortunately, Fresno State's season ended with that match as its 11-7-2 record wasn't good enough to get an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament.
Mario Sanchez, Craig Tomlinson and Jeff Fluharty all received first team All-WAC accolades, while Brown was on the second team. Sanchez was later named to the All-Far West Regionis first team.
At the postseason awards brunch in February, Sanchez was named team MVP. The Coaches Award went to defender Ricardo Ramirez and the Most Inspirational Award went to defender Ryan Pourhassanian. Mirko Vuksic was named the Most Improved Player and also received the teamis Academic Excellence award.
Sanchez and senior Ryan Robson received the team's Captains Award, and shared the Seniors Awards with midfielder Ryan Boyajian, Vuksic and Patterson.
Pourhassanian, defender Bryan Roney, midfielder Wayland Risch and Vuksic earned the Outstanding Academic Achievement awards.
