Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Draw Utah State To Open WAC Tournament Thursday
10/31/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Weekly Release and Updated Player Bios
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Oct. 31, 2005
2005 WAC Soccer Tournament Quarterfinals
No. 5 Fresno State Bulldogs (7-9-2, 4-2-1 WAC)
- vs. -
No. 4 Utah State Aggies (7-8-4, 4-2-1 WAC)
Date: Thursday, Nov. 3
Time: 11 a.m. PST
Site: Boise, Idaho
Facility: Boas Soccer Complex
Series History: Fresno State leads 1-0-1
Last Meeting: FS 0, USU 0 (Oct. 23, 2005 at Fresno, Calif.)
The Opening Kick-Off
A draw conducted Monday morning by the conference office broke a four-way tie for second place with teams sporting identical 4-2-1 records. When it was all said and done, Fresno State (7-9-2, 4-2-1 WAC) had been assigned the No. 5 seed and will face No. 4 seed Utah State (7-8-4, 4-2-1 WAC) when WAC Tournament quarterfinal play begins Thursday. The Bulldogs have won four of six.
Nov. 3 (Thu.)
No. 5 Fresno State (7-9-2, 4-2-1 WAC) vs. No. 4 Utah State (7-8-4, 4-2-1 WAC) - 11 a.m. PST
No. 6 Boise State (10-7-2, 4-3-0 WAC) vs. No. 3 Nevada (10-6-2, 4-2-1 WAC)- 1:30 p.m. PST
Nov. 4 (Fri.)
No. 5/No. 4 winner vs. No. 1 Hawai'i (9-8-2, 5-2-0 WAC)- 11 a.m. PST
No. 6/No. 3 winner vs. No. 2 San Jose State (5-11-3, 4-2-1 WAC)- 1:30 p.m. PST
Nov. 5 (Sat.)
Championship Match- 11 a.m. PST
Scouting Utah State
Utah State (7-8-4, 4-2-1 WAC) and Fresno State are the only WAC Tournament teams heading into this weekend's event on a winning streak. The Aggies swept a pair of home matches to wrap up the year, blanking Boise State 4-0 and edging Idaho 2-0. Those two victories came on the heels of back-to-back double-overtime matches, of which Utah State has played five total. The Aggies began the year slowly, starting out 0-4-2. Utah State has also yet to win three straight games. Players to watch include: Charity Weston (seven goals, four assists, 18 points, 54 shots), Dana Peart (four goals, nine points, 45 shots) and Kelli Allred (1.49 GAA, 44 saves, three shutouts). Head coach Heather Cairns is at the helm of the program.
Fresno State All-Time vs. Utah State
Two matches have been played between the two schools, resulting in a win and a tie. The two squads hooked up back on Oct. 23 at Bulldog Stadium and a 0-0 tie was the result. Fresno State held a 13-5 edge in shot attempts, including six tries by Alison Sill, but could not find the net and was held scoreless for the eighth time in 18 contests. Prior to this year, Fresno State blanked Utah State 2-0 on Sept. 17, 1999, at the Pacific Invitational in Stockton, Calif.
Scouting the WAC Tournament Field
#1 Hawai'i (9-8-2, 5-2-0 WAC): Hawai'i, which was 3-5-1 in games played on the mainland, captured the WAC regular-season title and has won six of eight overall. One of those losses was a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Fresno State.
#2 San Jose State (5-11-3, 4-2-1 WAC): The Spartans were not detered by an 0-9-2 start to the season. San Jose State received a first-round bye when their name was pulled out of a hat in a tiebreaking draw conducted by the WAC.
#3 Nevada (10-6-2, 4-2-1 WAC): The Wolf Pack, 2-6-1 away from Reno,is enjoying its best season in school history and a far cry from last year's 2-15-1 mark. Nevada's most recent win was a 4-0 rout of Louisiana Tech on Oct. 23.
#6 Boise State (10-7-2, 4-3-0 WAC): Host Boise State is coming off a 5-0 pasting of Louisiana Tech over the weekend. Problem is, they have been assigned the No. 6 seed after getting shutout 4-0 by Utah State two days earlier.
Fresno State All-Time at WAC Tournament
Fresno State, which has qualified for the WAC Tournament 11 straight seasons, holds a 6-10 mark in conference postseason play. The Bulldogs have never claimed the championship in their brief 11-year history and have never won more than one game in the tourney. Last year, No. 6 seed Fresno State suffered a 3-2 overtime loss to No. 3 seed UTEP in Honolulu.
Weekend Wrapup
Fresno State split a pair of matches last weekend, winning on the road and losing at home. On Friday night, Fresno State dropped a tough-luck 1-0 decision to San Jose State at Bulldog Stadium when the Spartans found the net in the 87th minute of action. Two days later, the Bulldogs regrouped to notch a 1-0 upset of regular-season conference champion Hawai'i in Honolulu. Nicole Gutierrez scored the game-winner, taking an assist from Antonea Lugo. Goalkeeper Angie Larsen was spectacular in goal for the Bulldogs throughout the weekend, making nine saves combined.
So How Did This Happen?
With four of the teams involved in this weekend's WAC Tournament sporting league records of 4-2-1, something had to be done. Conference administrators had to execute the last possible tiebreaker, as all previous head-to-head options could not break the tie. In the case of Nevada and San Jose State- both of which defeated Fresno State- the Spartans had their name picked out of the hat and received the No. 2 seed and first-round bye. Fresno State and Utah State battled for the No. 4 seed, however the Aggies' name was picked.
Road Warriors
Fresno State has crafted somewhat of a road-warrior reputation this year, going 6-5 in games played away from Bulldog Stadium. The Bulldogs have won three consecutive road matches since a 4-2 loss at Nevada on Oct. 9. More importantly, the `Dogs have won at the Boas Soccer Complex in Boise- the site of this weekend's WAC Tournament. Fresno State edged Boise State 1-0 in double-overtime on the Broncos' home turf on Oct. 16.
Throwing Up Zeroes- On Both Sides
Fresno State boasts the second-stingiest defense in the WAC next to Hawai'i, allowing just 23 goals. Even more impressively, the Bulldogs have allowed only five goals in seven conference matches. Fresno State has recorded seven shutouts on the year, owns a 4-3 record in 1-0 games and has allowed three or more goals in a match only four times. Problem is, Fresno State has been held scoreless in a match on eight different occasions. Through 18 matches, the Bulldogs have tallied just 16 goals.
Larsen Limits The WAC
Junior goalkeeper Angie Larsen has allowed only one goal in her last six starts. She has six shutouts on the year and has made 36 saves while posting a 0.67 GAA in her first collegiate season as the Bulldog's starter. Her record stands at 5-5-2 and she leads the WAC in GAA (0.16 in league games). Larsen was named WAC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 17.
Finishing The Job
The ability to create opportunities and shots has not been a problem for Fresno State, which owns a 227-173 edge over its foes. However, of Fresno State's 227 shots, 105 have been on goal and only 16 have found the back of the net.
Name Is The Same On Offense
No matter how you spell it, the majority of the offensive production has come from the usual suspects: senior Kortney Lewis and junior Cortney Sobrero. Lewis leads the `Dogs in points with 15, as she has scored five goals and added five assists. Sobrero also has five goals, while leading the team in shots (69) and shots on goal (30). Both players continue to climb in the record books as well.
Bulldogs Picked Second In WAC Preseason Poll
Fresno State has been tabbed to finish second in the WAC this season, garnering 43 points along with one first place vote. The runner-up ranking is Fresno State's highest since being picked to finish third in 2003. The revamped eight-team WAC will feature a different look this year, as only five programs that competed in last year's league return. Four-time defending champion SMU, along with Rice, Tulsa and UTEP, are now members of Conference USA.
