Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Open Season at Villanova
2/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
Feb. 28, 2010
FRESNO, Calif. - After the season-opener against La Salle was canceled due to snowfall on the East coast, the Fresno State women's lacrosse team is set to play its 2010 season opener on Monday at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time at Villanova.
Due to the snow in the East Villanova has also had one game canceled and they are 1-0 after posting a 13-7 win over Bryant on Saturday. Monday is the home opener for the Wildcats.
Following Monday's game, the Bulldogs play at Central Connecticut State on Wednesday, UMBC on Friday and Navy on Sunday, March 7. Fresno State then plays its home opener on March 11 against Detroit at 4 p.m.
"We are moving in a positive direction," Behme said. "We are maturing, developing and learning. That takes a lot of time and patience, not only by the coaching staff but by the players. They will rise to the occasion. I know that. They believe in themselves and they believe in each other."
There is a reason why Behme has a lot of excitement for the 2010 season as she returns 10 letter winners off last year team to balance out the 13 freshmen that are joining the team this year. The newcomers on this years' team have great experience playing the sport as the Bulldog coaches landed three high school All-Americans in Natalie Harrington, Margaret Wolford and Sara Weber.
"The quality freshmen class that we signed is a really good starting point," Behme said. "Going into this year our biggest piece for us was our off season training and fall ball in getting experience for our younger players as well as experience for our returning players at this level. That is a great measuring stick for us."
Another area of excitement for this year is the fact that the Bulldogs have six home games compared to only three last year. The home opener for Fresno State is March 11 vs. Detroit at 4 p.m. The other five home games are vs. Iona, Cincinnati, Stanford, Oregon and UC Davis.
"That is a great thing for our players," Behme said. "We are still on the road a lot but not as much as last year. Having a place to play at home until our facility is ready is great. We are excited to continue to educate our community and lacrosse about how great of a game this is."
Fresno State opens the season Feb. 26 at La Salle. That game is the first of a five-game road trip back East where the Dogs will play at Navy, Villanova, UMBC and Central Connecticut State.
"We have five games in 11 days which is a lot physically, mentally and academically on the players," Behme said. "I think they need to face those challenges and learn to develop those skills for us to be successful in our conference. Especially with whom we play in our conference. Everything is specifically structured for specific reasons and it evolves around preparing us for our conference play."
The Bulldogs compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and the team has a goal of finishing in the top four of the conference and winning a tournament game or two.
"Another big goal is to continue to believe and our number one goal is to be 100 percent vested in making our vision a reality," Behme said. "We want to win some games. That is a priority. If we do all these other pieces well the winning is going to take care of itself. In conference we want to develop to one of the top four teams in the conference and win a game in the tournament."
Behme is excited about the players she has at the attacking, midfield and defensive position to help the team accomplish its goals.
On the offensive side of the ball, Callie Seidman, Margaret Wolford, Lauren Natale are all set to play the attacking position with Heather Jack, Jennifer Ross, Allie Zachariades, Paula Badali, Amanda Cross and Jennifer Smith will also play the attacking position throughout the course of the season. Jack is the teams' top returning offensive player as she had a team-best 11 goals.
"As a team our focus has to be on staying composed and making good decisions with the ball," Behme said. "That is really going to be critical to our success. When we have possession in our attacking third of the field and looking for quality scoring opportunities that is our focus to be composed and patient and to let our sets do what they are supposed to do to create optimal scoring opportunities. Then we have to finish."
Seeing time in the midfield will be Jack, Ross, Zachariades, Badali, Cross, Smith, Taylor Fiehler, Vanessa Swalwell, Melissa Trisko, Michelle Rose, Amira Ferrell, Sara Weber and Sarah Weeks.
"Transitionally we have the workhorses in the midfield that can get the ball up the field but get back on the defensive end to slow that fast break down to put us into more of a settled situation on our team defensive unit," Behme said.
Seeing time on defense will be Krisdina Gehring, Kasandra Martinson, Ferrell, Weeks and Trisko.
"Defensively we are going to have to play tough man to man defense on the ball," Behme said. "Our ultimate goal is team defense. It seems simple. There are 12 players on the field and we attack as a team and defend as a team."
Behme is also pleased with how her team is performing away from the field as students as the team finished with a combined GPA of 3.2 during the fall semester. With the performance in the classroom and the improvement on the field, the Fresno State coaches are looking forward to the 2010 season.
"We are moving forward," Behme said. "The freshmen are on a quick learning curve but I am very patient with them. The upperclassmen know what to expect but we have gone to a much higher level than we were at last year. So they are still on a learning curve in that progression. Once again each third of our season we have specific measuring sticks. All of those measuring sticks are driving us mentally and physically to effectively execute and peak going into the conference championships. That takes time."
"We Are Your Team"- The Fresno State lacrosse team opens its 2010 home season on March 11 at 4 p.m. in Bulldog Stadium against Detroit. For ticket information click on the tickets link at the top of the page.
