Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
<li>UTEP
Women's Soccer Drops WAC Opener At UTEP, 2-0
9/26/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 26, 2003
EL PASO, Texas- Fresno State dropped its third straight match on Friday night, suffering a 2-0 setback on the road against UTEP in the WAC opener for both schools.
Fresno State (3-5-2, 0-1-0 WAC) entered its league opener against the Miners one game under the .500 mark, with all four losses coming against top-20 opponents. But a lack of offense has been the deciding factor in those matches, as the Bulldogs have yet to score a goal in all five defeats.
Despite holding a 16-7 advantage in shots, the Bulldogs fell behind early to UTEP (6-3-0, 1-0-0 WAC). The Miners scored both of their goals within the first 15 minutes and hung on the rest of the way for the victory. Fresno State was held without a score for the third consecutive game.
Christine McCartney gave UTEP the lead in the 13th minute with her team-leading seventh goal. Sophomore Kia Sams was credited with the assist on the play.
Two minutes later, senior Kate Stevens dribbled past several defenders and fired a shot past Fresno State goalkeeper Jeannette Paine (Kelowna, British Columbia).
Fresno State was led on offense by senior Erin Sayegusa (Honolulu, Hawaii), who recorded four shots with two on goal. Five other Bulldog players tallied at least two shots in the loss. The 16 shots were the most for the 'Dogs since tallying a season-best 23 in a 1-1 tie against UC Riverside on Sept. 17.
Freshman Antonea Lugo (Clovis, Calif.) made her first collegiate start for the Bulldogs in the loss.
The defeat snapped a three-game winning streak for Fresno State in conference openers and dropped the Bulldog's record in WAC debuts to 5-2-1.
The Bulldogs conclude their Texas road trip on Sunday against defending WAC champion SMU (8-2-0, 1-0-0 WAC) at 11 a.m. PST. Fresno State returns home next Friday to take on Boise State at 7 p.m. in Bulldog Stadium.
Scoring 1 2 FFresno State 0 0 0UTEP 2 0 2
Scoring Summary: UTEP- McCartney (Sams) 12:27, UTEP- Stevens (unassisted) 14:54.
Shots: Fresno State 16, UTEP 7.
Saves: UTEP 6, Fresno State 2.
Fouls: UTEP 15, Fresno State 12.
Attendance: 645.
Records: Fresno State (3-5-2, 0-1-0 WAC), UTEP (6-3-0, 1-0-0 WAC).
