Fresno State Athletics
Women's Soccer Looks To Break Through At OSU Nike Invitational
8/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 30, 2004
Fresno State Bulldogs
vs. UNC Greensboro Spartans
(Oregon State University Nike Invitational)
Date: Friday, Sept. 3
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Site: Corvallis, Ore.
Stadium: Lorenz Field
Series History: First Meeting
Fresno State Bulldogs
vs. New Hampshire Wildcats
(Oregon State University Nike Invitational)
Date: Sunday, Sept. 5
Time: 11 a.m.
Site: Corvallis, Ore.
Stadium: Lorenz Field
Series History: First Meeting
The Opening Kick-Off
Fresno State will travel to a neutral site later this weekend to play two East Coast opponents for the first time in program history. The Bulldogs (0-2-0) will be making an appearance in the Oregon State University Nike Invitational, hooking up with 2003 NCAA Tournament participant and Southern Conference champion UNC Greensboro on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in the opening round. Fresno State's second draw in the tourney is New Hampshire, a club the Bulldogs will face on Sunday at 11 a.m. Next weekend's tournament is the only one of the season for the `Dogs.
Looking Ahead
After its appearance at the OSU Nike Invitational, Fresno State finally returns to Bulldog Stadium for its opening home match of the 2004 season. The Bulldogs will face off against Sacramento State on Sept. 12 at 1 p.m. Only three of the club's seven September matches will be played in front of the home crowd.
Youth Is Served
10 of the 22 players on this year's roster are freshmen, which means that the newcomers will be given opportunities to contribute quickly. In the first two games last weekend, that proved to be the case. Against both UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton, five freshmen received starting nods. Additionally, nine of the 10 freshmen saw extended playing time in both matches.
`Dogs Hope To Heal Quickly
Perhaps the main reason for the team's sluggish start has been the inability to avoid the injury bug. During last weekend's road trip, 18 of the 22 official roster players made the bus ride down to Southern California. With three players remaining in Fresno already nursing injuries, the Bulldogs also played their first two games without the services of starting goalkeeper Jeannette Paine (flu-like symptoms) and starting midfielder Koleen Anderson (MCL sprain). In addition, forwards Cortney Sobrero and Mercedes Splettstoesser and defender Amanda Reyes were all forced to leave games early at some point over the weekend for injury-related reasons. Their status will be determined later.
Sobe Strikes First
Despite having to depart early from Sunday's game at Cal State Fullerton, sophomore Cortney Sobrero registered Fresno State's first goal of the 2004 season. Trailing 1-0, Sobrero evened the game with a goal in the 35th minute. Kortney Lewis stole a clear and chipped a pass through to Sobrero, who slipped past the Titan defense and fired a shot into the lower left corner of the goal.
A Record Nonetheless
Freshman netminder Debra Marie Lambert was tested early and often in her first collegiate start against Cal State Fullerton last weekend. With Fresno State having been outshot 34-3 on the afternoon, Lambert received plenty of work. However, the rookie goalkeeper did a serviceable job in an emergency starting role and impressed the coaching staff with her aggressive play. She made 12 total saves on the afternoon, tying a school record in the process. Former Bulldog keeper Jennifer Johnstone had recorded 12 saves on three other occasions, most recently against UTEP on Nov. 4, 1998. Lambert also played the second half of the season opener at UC Riverside, notching four saves in that game.
Offensive Struggles
Fresno State has struggled on offense to open the year, tallying only 11 shots through two games. Only four of those 11 shots have been on frame, while the Bulldogs have only attempted one corner kick. Sophomore Kortney Lewis, a 2003 second team All-WAC selection and Fresno State's leading scorer in each of the past two seasons, has yet to take a single shot and has been playing the majority of the time in the midfield.
Scouting UNC Greensboro
Fresno State will begin tournament play at the OSU Nike Invitational on Friday afternoon against UNC Greensboro. The Spartans (1-0-0) won their season opener last Friday in thrilling fashion, defeating Old Dominion 1-0 in overtime on a corner kick. UNC Greensboro will play Wake Forest in Winston-Salem on Monday night before heading out to the OSU Nike Invitational. Against Old Dominion, Amy Carnell came off the bench to score the only goal of the game following an assist from teammate Rake Logadottir. Jennifer Stillman played the entire game in goal and chipped in with seven saves. UNC Greensboro won the game despite being outshot 8-4. Head coach Eddie Radwanski is 38-27-4 at UNCG. In 2003, UNC Greensboro finished 15-7-2 overall, claimed the Southern Conference championship and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Fresno State All-Time vs. UNC Greensboro
The two schools are meeting for the first time.
Scouting New Hampshire
Following its contest against UNC Greensboro, Fresno State will take on New Hampshire (1-1-0) on Sunday afternoon at the OSU Nike Invitational. The Wildcats split their first two games last weekend, which included a 2-0 shutout win over Lafayette and a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Oklahoma State. In the victory over Lafayette, New Hampshire owned a 17-2 edge in shot attempts and received goals from Jackie Wishoski and Kelly Collins. The following day against Oklahoma State, the Wildcats were outshot 18-5 by the Cowgirls. After taking a 1-0 lead, Oklahoma State scored three times before intermission to claim the win. Goalie Liz McKay has made seven saves and allowed three goals in two games. Head coach Michael Jackson enters his 10th season at the helm.
Fresno State All-Time vs. New Hampshire
The two schools have never faced off in a women's soccer match.
Bulldogs Picked Fifth Overall In Preseason Coaches Poll
Fresno State, which finished 7-9-2 overall last season, has been picked to finish fifth in the 2004 WAC preseason poll, as selected by the league's nine head coaches. SMU, which will be gunning for its fourth-straight WAC title, earned eight first-place votes and registered 64 points to top the poll. Hawai'i finished in second place with 55 points and one first-place vote, while Rice took third with 50 points. UTEP tallied 37 points to check in fourth, just ahead of Fresno State in fifth with 35. Boise State was sixth with 28 points, followed by Tulsa (26), San Jose State (18) and Nevada (11).
Chestnutt, Sosovec Named Assistant Coaches
First-year head coach Steve Springthorpe began assembling his staff with assistant coaches Thomas Chestnutt and Lindsey Sosovec. Chestnutt, who served three seasons as an intern at the University of Florida, previously served four years as the technical advisor for the Gainesville Select Soccer Club and Legacy Soccer Club. Sosovec comes to Fresno State after spending the previous two seasons as a graduate assistant and goalkeeper coach at South Dakota State.
`Dogs Excel In The Classroom
Nine Fresno State student-athletes earned WAC All-Academic accolades for 2003, an upgrade over the eight selections in 2002. Prior to that, the Bulldogs had never totaled more than five selections on the WAC All-Academic squad. In addition, the team also achieved a cummulative GPA of 2.99 during the 2003-04 school year.
Back In The Rankings
Fresno State re-established its reputation as one of the nation's top-watched programs in 2003, ranking third nationally in average match attendance among all other Division 1 women's soccer programs. The Bulldogs drew an average of 1,607 fans over six home dates last year, trailing national-leader Texas A&M with 1,977 and checking in just behind second-ranked Texas at 1,609. Fresno State's 2003 national average attendance ranking matched the school's previous high set back in 1998, when the Bulldogs closed out the year ranked third-best in the country with a program-best 1,637 average. Fresno State's No. 3 national ranking also made Bulldog Stadium the top-ranked site in the west for average attendance.
Lewis Earns Second Team All-WAC Accolades
Sophomore forward Kortney Lewis was awarded second team All-WAC honors in 2003 after leading the `Dogs in the following offensive categories: starts (18), goals (9), points (21), shots (43) and shots on goal (27). That followed up a freshman season in which she led the club in the same categories and earned a spot on the WAC All-Tournament Team. In just two seasons, Lewis continues to rewrite the program record books and establish herself as one of the most prolific goal scorers in school history. Entering this year, she ranks fourth all-time in points, third in goals and assists and sixth in shots.
