Fresno State Athletics
Lacrosse Sets Foundation in 2010
6/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
June 18, 2010
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State lacrosse coach Sue Behme knows building a program is a process. But that process continues to be on a path headed in the right direction. In 2010 the team was more competitive on the scoreboard, in nearly every statistical category, had the program's first-ever all-conference honoree while continuing to perform in the classroom and in the community.
"This year is what we are building on," Behme said. "That is a positive thing as we move forward. We were much more competitive, which is a step in the right direction."
The step in the right direction started with a group of freshmen who provided the majority of the offensive output for the Bulldogs as 46 of the 62 goals were scored by the first-year Bulldogs.
Leading the way was Amanda Cross' 20 goals and four assists. Margaret Wolford, who was named the team's Offensive MVP had 10 goals and four assists while Sara Weber had six goals and one assist and Natalie Harrington four goals and three assists. Sophie Walker had four assists. The freshmen class combined for 18 of the team's 25 assists.
"I am happy all the freshmen have experience playing at this level," Behme said. "That experience will help, especially playing in such a strong conference."
Leading the Bulldog defense was Krisdina Gehring. In only her second-year playing lacrosse she was named to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation second-team all-conference squad. This is the first honor for a Bulldog and one that coach Behme is extremely proud of.
Gehring caused a team-best 27 turnovers and picked up 14 ground balls. The 27 caused turnovers ranked her second in the MPSF in caused turnovers per game at 1.93.
"To have our first all-conference player selected is huge let along it being a player is only in her second year of playing the game," Behme said.
Statistically the Bulldogs had 87 points in 2010 to 42 in 2009 and had 62 goals this year to 39 in 2009. Fresno State also had 25 assists to only three in its inaugural season. The Bulldogs won more ground balls, caused more turnovers and had fewer turnovers in the 2010 season than in 2009.
Away from the field the Bulldogs won the Athletic Directors Community Service award for the second straight year and had seven student-athletes named to the MPSF Academic All-Conference team. Jennifer Rose, Kasandra Martinson, Michelle Rose, Jennifer Smith, Heather Jack, Krisdina Gehring and Amira Ferrell all earned the academic honors.
Since Behme was hired as head coach she has had the team in the community to educate the people of the Central Valley on the sport of women's lacrosse. The team has held free clinics and participated in community events to lead the department in most community service hours performed.
"The community service award is something we really pride ourselves on," Behme said. More importantly, Behme sees her team accomplishing many of its goals. The Bulldog coach wants a team that is 100 percent vested in the program, focused, continually improving conditioning physically and mentally along with having a team with complete trust in each other. The academic goals have also been met as the Bulldogs had a perfect 1,000 APR score in 2010 and they had seven student-athletes placed on the Mountain Pacific All-Academic team.
With the foundation being laid, excitement abounds in 2011 with a solid group of five freshmen joining the team.
With a strong core of returning players and incoming class of Kara Concheck, Lisa Barnaba, Ashley Phillips, Briana Hetherington and Rachel Minarovich Behme and her assistants are excited about the future of the program in 2011.
"These five will complement our returners really well," Behme said. "The hardest part is learning to be patient in the process of developing a program. We are moving forward in a positive direction. What we are doing in our development of the program parallels where we need to be successful in our conference."
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