Fresno State Athletics
The Last Week in Women's Soccer...
9/27/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
?Dogs put on dancing shoes for Cal Poly...Hard work pays off, never count your chickens until they?ve hatched and you can teach old dogs new tricks. Enter your clich? here but know this, the Fresno State women?s soccer team is now a member of the 48-field NCAA Tournament. ?This is the greatest moment in Fresno State women?s soccer history,? head coach Peter Reynaud said. ?It is truly an honor to be apart of the NCAA Championships. These seniors, as well as the rest of the squad, deserve to be recognized and rewarded with this bid for their tremendous season.?
Bulldogs stand out with WAC honors...Five years after being hired to build a winning women's soccer program at Fresno State, Peter Reynaud has a not only the 1999 Western Athletic Conference regular season championship but WAC Coach of the Year honors as well. Reynaud was selected this week as the year's top coach by his peers. Reynaud coached the 'Dogs to their first ever national ranking and a 3-1 record versus top-15 squads en route to a 13-4-2 record . The Bulldogs also recorded their longest unbeaten streak with a 12-match sting that started with No. 13 James Madison on Sept. 14. Top 'Dog Reynaud was not the lone Bulldog to receive postseason honors. Four members of the Fresno State women's soccer team was given respect for their season on the soccer field as well. Reyna Green, Jill Pearson, Morgan Oliveira and Aimee Thompson all earned berths to the All-WAC first team. Pearson headlined the offense for the conference with her 11-goal, four-assist season. Her 26 points led the WAC. Green's eight assists smashed the Bulldogs single-season mark, but fell one short of the WAC lead. Oliveira was second in goals scored for the Bulldogs, but netted two game winners versus top-15 squads. Thompson recorded three goals for the 'Dogs this fall, but more importantly set the tone for the squad in the midfield. Green, Pearson and Thompson all earned All-WAC tournament honors as well.
SMU avenges regular-season loss to claim WAC...Southern Methodist got its revenge from earlier this season when Fresno State downed the Mustangs 3-1 to en route to a Bulldog regular-season WAC championship. In the championship game on their home field in Dallas, Tex., the Mustangs pushed the ?Dogs to double overtime before eventually downing Fresno State 1-0 for the WAC title. ?Dog keeper Jennifer Johnstone recorded a season-high 10 saves to keep the match close. But the SMU attack was too great and Tara Comfort hooked up with Nicole Lamb for the game winner in the 107th minute of action.
?Dogs finish with second winning season...For only the second time in their five-year history, the Bulldogs have finished the regular season with a winning mark. The first winning campaign came in 1997 when the ?Dogs went 12-9-0 (3-2-0 in Western Athletic Conference action). While running off a program record 12 matches unbeaten, earning their first national ranking and claiming the WAC regular season crown, the Bulldogs did so one match at a time. Fresno State claimed first time victories over James Madison, UM-Baltimore, Utah State, Ole Miss, Tulsa and perennial WAC power Southern Methodist.
Records are made to be broken...In the most successful season in Fresno State women?s soccer history, individual, as well as, team records are falling by the wayside as the Bulldogs charge into the history books. With a more sophisticated offense, one which relies on combination plays, the assists numbers were bound to take off. Jill Pearson, entering the season as the second-ranked career assist queen, has replaced Cheryl Gano as the title holder. Gano?s mark of ten was eclipsed in dramatic fashion when Pearson?s corner kick found Morgan Oliveira for the game winning goal to upset No. 10 Southern Methodist. But Pearson might not end up as the ultimate assist leader in Fresno State history, as a hard working Reyna Green is setting people up at a rate the program has never seen before. Breaking Pearson?s mark of five assists for one season Sunday with her two-assist effort, Green?s season total of eight is now the highest number of assists for a Bulldog in one season.
The Great Red Wall...A large part of the 1999 season?s success was the play of the Bulldog defense. Led by ?Dog keeper Jennifer Johnstone, Nicole Burnside, Kristin Dunlap, Megan McAlpin, Sarah McEachen and Susan Shivokevich come together to make shutouts happen. Fresno State has recorded eight shutouts while limiting opponents to 0.86 goals a game. For most of the season Fresno State ranked in the top 20 in team defnse due to the work of the Red Wall.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T, No. 24 is what it means to me...For most of the season the Fresno State Bulldogs flirted with the NSCAA/Adidas Top-25 Rankings. They knocked on the door. They rang the bell. They peeked through the window. They even brought flowers with its wins over James Madison, Southern Cal and Southern Methodist. But on Oct. 24, 1999 the ?Dogs got tired of barking and finally tore down that door. On the heels of a 10-game unbeaten streak, Fresno State earned national recognition with its No. 24 spot in the Top-25 poll. It was the first time the Fresno State women?s soccer team has reached the Top-25. ?We are extremely pleased to have received this recognition,? head coach Peter Reynaud said. ?Our next task is to keep this momentum and realize our ultimate goal for this season is to win the WAC and make the NCAA Championships next month.?
Pearson Becomes Pesky to Get Noticed...Safely rooted as the No. 2 scorer in Fresno State history, Jill Pearson was in a rut before the Sacramento State match. Feeling left out in the Bulldog attack, the junior forward went on a scoring binge that will go down in history as the greatest performance in a Fresno State women?s soccer uniform. In a Sunday matinee, the Garden Grove native almost single handed took the Hornets behind the woodshed with the ?Dogs 6-1 rout of their non-conference rival. Pearson found net in the ninth, 35th and 60th minutes. She also hooked up with Reyna Green for the midfielder?s first of two goals in the 58th minute. Former ?Dog Cheryl Gano recorded three hat tricks during her career, but never added an assist in the same game that Pearson did versus the Hornets. The performance versus Sacramento State earned Jill Pearson WAC Player of the Week honors, as well as her selection to the Soccer America team of the week. One week later Pearson turned in her second career hat trick versus Texas Christian in the ?Dogs 3-1 route of the Horned Frogs. Pearson was assisted by Green on her second and third goals of the match.
Jennifer Johnstone Records Season?s Eighth Shutout...Senior keeper Jennifer Johnstone played like an All-Star in the fall of 1999, smashing the record for shutouts during a season in only the 13th game and building upon it in the postseason. The Scotts Valley native got her record-breaking seventh shutout by being a true teammate -- sharing it. After successfully repelling the Wahine? attack for the first 45 minutes, Johnstone was retired for the game with the ?Dogs safely up 2-0. Frosh Mary-tyler Wahl completed the shutout by making three saves in the second half. Johnstone, a starter since day one of her collegiate career, added to her total in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament when she held the San Jose Spartans scoreless for the entire 90 minutes of action. Johnstone leaves Fresno State with 23 shutouts and a 1.36 career goals against average. For the 1999 campaign, the ?Dog keeper recorded a 0.841 GAA.
Oliveira is Outstanding Earning WAC Player of the Week...She only had one game to play that week and the sophomore from Lemoore seized her opportunity when she cracked the back of the net in the game?s 23rd minute to set the tone for the Bulldogs in their win over No. 7 Southern Cal. Morgan Oliveira only took one shot that night, but worked in harmony with her fellow striker, Jill Pearson, to inflict pain upon the Trojans. The tandem kept the pressure on the USC defense when, early in the second half, Oliveira connected with Pearson for what would eventually be dubbed the game-winning goal. The WAC Player of the Week honor (10/4) culminated a seven-game span where the forward recorded four goals and one assist.
Bulldogs Record Greatest Victory, Part 2...For the second time this fall, head coach Peter Reynaud walked off the field claiming his squad had just claimed the greatest win in Fresno State women?s soccer history. No one can argue differently as his Bulldogs were victorious for its second win over a top-15 squad. But this time it was at home and versus a formidable Southern Cal team ranked seventh in the nation with only two losses -- No. 2 North Carolina and No. 3 Florida. The ?Dogs allowed the Trojans only one shot in the first half, while their attacking offense and smart defense worked to take four shots, finding net once at the 22:04 mark thanks to Morgan Oliveira. During the second half, Jill Pearson added to the Bulldog advantage when she received a pass from Oliveira and cracked the back of the net with a 10-yard blast. A solo penalty kick was the only offense for the No. 7 Trojans, as they were bit by the ?Dogs 2-1.
Bulldogs Record Greatest Victory, Part 1...In the final game of an early-season East Coast road swing, the Fresno State women?s soccer team played its best game of the season to upset the 13th ranked team in the land with a 1-0 overtime victory. Morgan Oliveira found net at the 103:13 mark to up end the James Madison Dukes for the Bulldogs? greatest victory (until two weeks later when the USC Trojans marched into Bulldog Stadium and limped out 90 minutes later). Oliveira intercepted a pass from the JMU defense fifty yards out and simply ran away from the Dukes to beat keeper Suzanne Wilson for the game winner. The sophomore forward could have recorded the game winner in regulation, but a cross fired from Reyna Green sailed over her head just feet from the goal. Fresh off a 0-3 beating by the hands of the Virginia Cavaliers two days prior, Reynaud believes the seeds were planted for this win in that second half. ?We definitely became more aggressive in our play during those 45 minutes,? Reynaud said. ?But, this is absolutely the greatest win in the history of Fresno State women?s soccer. To upset such a powerful program like this one -- on their field -- speaks very highly for our program and the direction in which it is moving.?
Updated Bios
#0 Jennifer Johnstone: Johnstone has started all 21 matches for the Bulldogs this fall ... recorded a Bulldog single-season record 8 shutouts ... holds the lowest GAA in the WAC at 0.787.
#00 Geni Badella: Badella has seen action in one match this fall.
#1 Mary-tyler Wahl: Wahl has seen action in two matches this fall recording three saves.
#2 Renea Tanner: Tanner has appeared in 15 matches this fall with one start ... recorded four shots this year as a key reserve in the Bulldog forward rotation.
#3 Megan McAlpin: McAlpin started all 21 of the Bulldog matches as Fresno State?s top man marker ... recorded her lone assist of the season when she hooked up with Aimee Thompson for the game winner versus Sacramento State ... received two cautions for the fall.
# 4 Nicole Burnside: Burnside has appeared in 17 of the Bulldog matches while starting nine ... a tough physical defender, she is the first defender off the bench in most games .. received one caution this fall.
#6 Jill Pearson: Pearson started all 20 games in which she was eligible for ... led the WAC in goals this fall with 11 for the season - one shy of the Bulldog single season record ... broke the all-time assist mark when she hooked up with Morgan Oliveira for the game winner versus No. 10 Southern Methodist ... has two hat tricks to her credit this fall and five game-winning goals ... named WAC Player of the Week ... named first team All-WAC and All-WAC tournament team ... received one caution and one ejection this fall.
#7 Morgan Oliveira: Oliveira has started 20 games this fall for the Bulldogs ... netted the game winning goals versus two top-15 teams (James Madison and SMU) ... turned in a two-assist performance versus Tulsa .. named WAC Player of the Week ... named first team All-WAC.
#8 Aimee Thompson: Thompson has started in 17 matches for the Bulldogs ... netted the game winner versus Sacramento State and Utah State ... named first team All-WAC and All-WAC tournament team ... received thee cautions and one ejection for the fall.
#9 Lee Baier: Baier has appeared in two matches for the Bulldogs this fall.
#10 Sara Yudin: Yudin has appeared in 19 of the Bulldogs matches, starting five ... recorded the tying assist versus UTEP ... usually the first offensive player off the bench, when she does not start ... received one caution this fall.
#11 Andrea Morelock: Morelock has appeared in 19 of the Bulldogs matches ... recorded the tying goal versus Tulsa ... usually the first midfielder off the bench ... hit the game winner with less than three minutes remaining in regulation versus San Jose State at the WAC tournament ... recorded the lone Bulldog goal in Fresno State NCAA Tournament history with her score in the first half versus Cal Poly ... received two cautions this fall.
#12 Sarah McEachen: McEachen has appeared in 14 matches this fall, starting 13 ... battled through a leg injury for the first month of the season ... recorded a goal versus Hawai?i.
#13 Reyna Green: Green has started all 21 games for the Bulldogs this fall ... broke the single-season assist mark with her eight this year ... has assisted on five of the game-winning goals ... scored the first goal of the season versus Pacific .. recorded two goals versus Sacramento State ... named to first team All-WAC and All-WAC tournament team.
#14 Virginia Jenkins: Jenkins has seen action in 19 matches this fall ... recorded her first career assist when she hooked up with Jill Pearson versus Long Beach State for the game-winner ... recorded her first career goal versus Tulsa.
#17 Corrine Atkins: Atkins has started all 21 matches for the Bulldogs this fall ... has recorded two goals and one assist with her claiming the game winner versus Tulsa in overtime.
#18 Susan Shivokevich: Shivokevich has started all 21 matches for the Bulldogs ... playing sweeper, the defender pushed up versus Pacific to record the game winner off a Jill Pearson pass.
#19 Amber Houchen: Houchen has appeared in 14 matches for the Bulldogs ... serves as a key reserve for the outside midfielders.
#20 Kristin Dunlap: Dunlap has started all 21 matches for the Bulldogs ... a key defender, Dunlap has eight shots on goal this fall.
#22 Jessica Peisch: Peisch has seen action in 19 matches, starting 16 for the Bulldogs ... recorded her first goal and assist of her career in three-point effort versus Utah State.
# 25 Andrea Baier: Baier has seen action in two matches this fall ... found net with her first shot of the season versus Hawai?i.
