Fresno State Athletics
Soccer Looks Back in Honor of Centennial
10/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 12, 2010
FRESNO, Calif. - Homecoming festivities are in full swing on the Fresno State campus and this homecoming is special as the Bulldogs celebrate their centennial anniversary. The Bulldog soccer team kicked off the week on Sunday with special centennial pins and ice cream. Here is a look into the history of Fresno State soccer.
How is your historical recall? Does anyone out there remember the Bulldogs' first women's soccer match at home?
It was Sept. 10, 1995, the debut season for Peter Reynaud and the `Dogs. Fresno State lost 3-2 to Air Force and finished 9-11-1 in that historic first campaign. In August the Bulldogs began the 2010 season - the 16th in program history - with second-year head coach, Brian Zwaschka. He and his troops are looking forward, not back. They know the task ahead for a program that has reached the NCAA post-season just three times in 15 years.
But we're going to look back - to the players (and coaches) who took the Bulldogs from infancy to being a perennial WAC contender.
The scorers
Cheryl Gano, Jill Pearson and Kortney Lewis aren't simply the top three scorers in Bulldogs hostory. They also represent important eras in the team's history.
Gano was the Bulldogs' first go-to player. Her 12 goals and 27 points from the first season in 1995 are still freshman season records. She led the team in goals two seasons, was a two-time All-WAC honoree and is No. 3 all-time in points (68) and goals (29).
Pearson joined the `Dogs in 1997 with a potent combination of speed and skill that brought Fresno State its first winning season (12-9). In 1999, she led the Bulldogs to their first NCAA appearance and a best-ever 14-6-2 season. Pearson is No. 1 all-time in points (102) and goals (40) and second in assists (20). She remains the only Bulldog to be named WAC Player of the Year, in 2000.
Lewis, from Visalia, made an immediate impact with 10 goals and 27 points as a freshman in 2002, and as a senior helped the `Dogs win their first WAC tournament title and make the NCAAs. She's second all-time in points (79) and goals (30) and third in assists (19).
The Stoppers
Jennifer Johnstone in the 1990s and Rochelle Jagdeo in the 2000s were two defensive stalwarts responsible for keeping Bulldogs opponents off the scoreboard.
Johnstone became the Bulldogs' regular goalkeeper in the second season of 1996 and left four years later as the all-time leader in saves (406) and shutouts (23). No one else is even close in saves - Kaitlyn Revel's 308 is second.
Rochelle Jagdeo was the rock of a defense that led Fresno State to the NCAA tournament in 2005. The Bulldogs ran off six straight shutouts in WAC play, giving up just one goal in conference play. They won the tournament title 1-0 over San Jose State. Jagdeo was WAC defensive player of the year in 2005 and 2006.
The Skippers
Peter Reynaud and Steve Springthorpe are the only two coaches who have taken the Bulldogs to the NCAA post-season.
Reynaud was hired away from a successful program at Sonoma State to build the Bulldogs in 1995. When he left for Long Beach State in 2001, Reynaud had produced three straight winning seasons including the first NCAA berth in 1999. Now retired, Reynaud lives in Fresno and has been a frequent presence at Bulldog games.
Springthorpe was hired in 2004 and one season later led a dramatic turnaround. The 2005 Bulldogs were 1-5 before the defensive stand that ended with a WAC Tournament win and the school's second NCAA berth. He left for North Carolina State after last season.
A special thanks to former Fresno Bee writer Ken Robison for this submission.
"We Are Your Team" The Bulldogs continue WAC play on the road next week. The `Dogs head to New Mexico State on Oct. 15 and Louisiana Tech on Oct. 17. Fresno State returns to Bulldog Stadium on Oct. 22 and plays Utah State.
