Fresno State Athletics
Men's Soccer Prepares For Final Two Matches
10/30/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 30, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. - `DOGS LOOK FOR STRONG CONFERENCE FINISH
The Bulldogs will finish up the regular season with two final matches at home. The first match will take place on Friday, Nov. 3, at 2 p.m. versus Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference foe, University of Denver. Then on Sunday, Nov. 5, the men take the pitch against the Air Force Academy at 1 p.m.
SCOUTING REPORT: University of Denver (8-5-1, 5-2-0 MPSF-M)
For the second time in Fresno State Soccer history, the Bulldogs will play the University of Denver. The first match between the two teams resulted in a 2-1 Denver victory. The lone goal for the Bulldogs was netted on a penalty kick by sophomore midfielder Kupono Low (Fremont, Calif.). The Pioneers are led by third-year head coach Chad Aston. Over his three years at Denver he has accumulated a 20-32-4 record. Last season the team posted an 8-11-0 overall record and a 4-3-0 record within the MPSF. Denver has played fairly well this season by accumulating an 8-5-1 overall record and a 5-2-0 conference record. With the winning conference record, the team is headed to the MPSF playoffs as the division runnerup. In recent action, the Pioneers settled in a 1-1 tie on Sunday, Oct. 29, with No. 8 (Division II) Colorado School of Mines. Previously on Friday, Oct. 27, the team inked a 3-1 conference loss to No. 1 San Jose State.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
University of San Diego transfer student, junior midfielder Michael Piserchio is continuing to perform well as a Pioneer. In the Colorado School of Mines match, Piserchio tallied six shots, five on goal, and the game-tying goal. He is complemented by the play of teammate, junior forward, Matt Harrell. Harrell assisted on the lone goal by Piserchio and accounted for three shots in the same match. In the Pioneer loss to No. 1 San Jose State, Harrell netted the single goal and tallied two shots with one on goal.
SCOUTING REPORT: Air Force Academy (5-7-1, 2-4-0 MPSF-M)
Fresno State posts a 9-4-1 all-time record versus the Falcons. The last time the two MPSF conference opponents met, the Air Force inked the 2-0 shutout victory. The Air Force is led by 21-year head coach Luis Sagastume. He holds an all-time record of 248-131-35 and an impressive 227-124-35 record at AFA. Last season the team finished fifth in the MPSF. The Falcons are currently on a three-match losing skid. In recent action, Sagastume's team fell victim to the No. 1 play of San Jose State. The Falcons did not surrender without a fight as they took the Spartans into overtime. San Jose State scored on a header at the 6-minute mark for the game-winning goal. Prior to the overtime loss, AFA lost to Denver 1-0. Prior to the losing streak, the Air Force had been on the heels of Denver en route to the runner-up position in the conference playoff run.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
The Falcons' offensive attack has been evenly distributed throughout the team. In the loss to No. 1 San Jose State, six different players recorded a shot. Team captain and forward Ryan Sagastume inked two shots, one on goal in the match. In the loss to Denver, Sagastume recorded two shots. Two other players inked two shots as well, defenders Donovan Kneuer and Matt Rabe. Unfortunately for the Falcons, despite their continuous efforts to score, the team has been unsuccessful in obtaining a victory.
`DOGS FALL TO SACRAMENTO STATE
The Fresno State Bulldogs were defeated by the visiting Hornets of Sacramento State, Sunday, Oct. 29, with a score of 2-1. Fresno State headed into the Sunday afternoon match with hopes of improving its MPSF record to the .500 mark. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the Hornets were vying for their first MPSF win of the season and their recent 2-0 loss to Fresno State was still fresh in their mind. Both teams were held scoreless for the entire first half. Fresno State managed to tally nine shots versus the lonely two from the Hornets, none making it past either goalkeeper. The second half proved to be more exciting as Sacramento netted two goals. The first came in the 56th minute as freshman forward David Fraser scored unassisted. The game-winning goal came at the 82-minute mark when junior forward Sean Luigs took a pass from Fraser on the left side and netted a goal in the right-bottom corner. The Bulldogs began their comeback a little too late however, as they did not score until just over the 83-minute mark. Sophomore forward Ryan Katz (Arroyo Grande, Calif.) took a header from junior defender Curt Posey (Clovis, Calif.) in the middle of the box to put it past the Hornets' sophomore netminder Joey Hills. Fresno State's sophomore goalkeeper Jeremy Proud (Auburn, Wash.) finished with three saves. With the loss, Fresno State falls to 8-7-1 overall and 1-5-0 in the MPSF-M. The Hornets improve to 6-9-1 overall and 1-5-0 in the MPSF-M.
BULLDOGS LOSE TO VISITING GAUCHOS
The Fresno State Bulldogs dropped another match this Thursday, Oct. 26, to the visiting Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara with a score of 1-0. The match was evenly contested throughout the first half as each team was held scoreless. It as not until the 69th minute when Gauchos' forward Joe Hubay-Dies connected on a pass from teammate Matt Kubota. Hubay-Dies headed the ball just out of the reach of Proud into the left side of the net. The goal would be the only one of the match for either team. Proud finished the match with three saves on four shots.
2000 MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP
The MPSF Championship will be determined by a four-team postseason tournament at the home site of the Pacific Division champion. The MPSF Championship semifinal matches will ink the Mountain Division champion and the Pacific Division runner-up and the Pacific Division champion versus the Mountain Division runner-up on Friday, November 10. The division champion and runner-up is determined using a points system. Three points are given for every division win, one point for a tie and zero points for a loss. The MPSF Championship match will face-off the winners of the semifinal matches on Sunday, Nov. 12, at the home site of the Pacific Division champion. To learn more about MPSF soccer visit www.mpsports.org.
2000 NCAA COLLEGE CUP TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
The NCAA Semifinals and Championship matches will take place Friday, Dec. 8 and Sunday, Dec. 10, at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. To learn more about the NCAA College Cup visit www.ncaasoccer.net.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
November is shaping up to be another successful community involvement month. The Bulldogs begin the month by hosting "Radical Readers Day." On Friday, Nov. 3, the Bulldogs are hosting fourth through eight grade students from nearby Ripperdan Elementary for an event that will emphasize the importance of literacy. The students will take part in a 30-minute presentation that will showcase two Fresno State head coaches. The Bulldogs' head football coach Pat Hill and soccer head coach Dave Chesler will be speaking on the issue. They are joined by Chicano-Latin American studies professor Dr. Figeuro-Unda. In addition, members of the men's soccer team will be demonstrating their soccer skills. The entire event is taking place at Pete Beiden Field. The second event on tap for the Bulldogs is District VII soccer Day. On Sunday, Nov. 5, prior to the Air Force match, a tailgate party will take place in the White Lot beginning at 11 a.m. October was filled with numerous community events. The team started out the month by hosting the Clovis Junior Soccer League tailgate party at their match versus Loyola Marymount on Sunday, Oct. 1. Then on Friday, Oct. 13, two team members and the coaching staff went to Ripperdan Elementary School for "Reader's Day". The `Dogs read to the classes and communicated the significance of literacy. On Thursday, Oct. 19, the team hosted a youth soccer clinic for girls and boys ages 6-12. More than 200 youth participated in the event. Finally, on Saturday, Oct. 21, the Bulldogs held an official practice and demonstration for the United Cerebral Palsy/McValley Cup at Buchanan High School from 8 to 10 a.m. The team signed autographs for those who attended.
FORMER BULLDOG RETIRES FROM MLS
Ryan Tinsley (1992-93) retired from the Major League Soccer team, San Jose Earthquakes, this past month. After playing for four seasons with the Earthquakes and starting as a defender, Tinsley ended his career because of arthritis in both hips. Prior to his four seasons in San Jose, Tinsley played with the now defunct San Diego Soccers from 1992-93. Tinsley was a two-year letterwinner, an All-MPSF second team MPSF selection and a top 10 all-time individual season assists leader with 10 in 1992.
