Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
James Madison
Bulldogs Bite #13 JMU
9/14/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 14, 1999
Harrisonburg, Va. - The James Madison Dukes were presented the 13th ranking on Monday ? a day after finishing off Rutgers in overtime and three days after rallying to upset then 13th-ranked Virginia. But their ranking should not hold for much longer.
In the final game of a grueling East Coast road swing, the Fresno State women?s soccer squad played their best game of the season to upset the 13th-ranked team in the land 1-0 in overtime. Morgan Oliveira found net at the 103:13 mark to up end the Dukes. Oliveira intercepted a pass from the JMU defense fifty yards out and ran away from the Dukes? defenders to beat keeper Suzanne Wilson for the game winner.
?Morgan showed great maturity in front of the goal,? head coach Peter Reynaud said. ?In such an intense situation like that was ? in overtime ? she was able to finish. Simply outstanding.?
Regulation was played at a frenetic pace with both squads pushing the ball up and stretching the opposition?s defense. The first half ended with neither team claiming an advantage. While the Dukes racked up 13 shots on goal to the ?Dogs two, a great majority came from outside the box and landed safely in the hands of goalkeeper Jennifer Johnstone.
The well-traveled Bulldog faithful encountered a brief scare when JMU?s Christine Stouden set and fired a 15-yard blast in the game?s 21st minute. Johnstone relieved the Red Wave when her right hand deflected the shot to the top post. The senior keeper ended the match with a season-high eight saves for her third shut out of the season. In the second half the Bulldogs began to assert themselves more and fired six shots on goal. Oliveira could have recorded the game winner in regulation, but the cross from teammate Reyna Green was lofted over her head.
?I thought I had it,? Oliveira said. ?I just couldn?t jump that high.?
But Oliveira redeemed herself and quite possibly her squad in finishing off the Dukes in overtime. Fresh off a 0-3 beating by the hands of the Virginia Cavaliers Sunday, Reynaud believes the seeds were planted for this win in that second half.
?We definitely became more aggressive in our play during those second forty-five minutes,? Reynaud said. ?This was absolutely the greatest win in the history of Fresno State women?s soccer. To upset such a powerful program like this one speaks very highly for our program and the direction in which it is moving.?
The Bulldogs return to Fresno Wednesday for a bit of rest and relaxation before heading North to Stockton for the Pacific Invitational Friday, where they will take on Utah State at 5:30 p.m.
?This has been such a long and arduous road trip for us [spending six days away from home],? Reynaud said. ?Anytime you can come back from the East Coast 2-1, you?ve done your job.?
