Taking the Road One Last Time

Freshman Ashari Hines scored the Bulldogs first hat trick of the 2014 season.

Taking the Road One Last Time

10/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Oct. 22, 2014

By: Kimberly Fisher
kimfisher@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com

Game 18 • Fresno State (4-13-0) vs. Air Force (6-8-1)
Friday, Oct. 24, 2014 (2 p.m.)
Colorado Springs, Colo. --- Cadet Soccer Stadium
Live Stats: goairforcefalcons.com
Coverage: Mountain West Network

Game 19 • Fresno State (4-13-0) vs. Colorado College (9-4-3)
Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014 (1 p.m.)
Fresno, Calif. --- Bulldog Stadium
Live Stats: gobulldogs.com
Coverage: Mountain West Network

Final Away Game
Fresno State soccer will make its last road trip of the regular-season to Colorado Springs, Colo. to face the United States Air Force Academy on Friday, Oct. 24 at the Cadet Soccer Stadium. The `Dogs are then set to host Colorado College on Sunday, Oct. 26 with a 1 p.m. (PT) kick off time at Bulldog Stadium.

Sundae Funday
Admission to Sunday's game against the Colorado College Tigers is free of charge and ice cream sundaes will be given to fans upon arrival at Bulldog Stadium at the South endzone entrance while supplies last. Kids will have the chance to take the field at the conclusion of the match for the youth shoot around.

Head-to-Head
The `Dogs hold a 4-0 series record over Air Force. The last time the two teams met the `Dogs won 2-1 in double overtime at Cadet Soccer Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo. Sunday's matchup with Colorado College will mark the first ever matchup between the Bulldogs and Tigers. Mountain West newcomer, Colorado College retired its last season as a member of Conference USA in 2013 leading the West Region with a record of 8-1-1 and clinching a berth to the 2013 C-USA Women's Soccer Championship.

About the Falcons (6-8-1, 3-4-1 MW)
The Air Force women's soccer team currently sits in sixth place in the 2014 Mountain West standings, two places above the `Dogs, and is led by freshman Angela Karamanos with six goals (one game-winning), two assists and 25 shots. This season, Air Force started conference play strong with a pair of home shutouts over Boise State and Utah State. The Falcons picked up a draw against New Mexico then dropped three consecutive games against San Diego State, Colorado State and Wyoming. In last weekend's matchups, Air Force split with a victory over Nevada, then fell to UNLV on Sunday. Following Friday night's contest with Fresno State, the Falcons will travel to Spartan Stadium to take on San Jose State (5-8-3) on Sunday, Oct. 26. The Falcons are led by Larry Friend in his sixth season as head coach of the United States Air Force Academy women's soccer program.

About the Tigers (9-4-3, 5-2-1 MW)
In its first season with the Mountain West, Colorado College stands in third place in the 2014 standings behind conference leader San Diego State and the University of Wyoming. Since taking over in 2004, head coach Geoff Bennett has led the women's soccer team to its three NCAA tournament bids since 2006, the Tigers concluded the 2013 season with 15-4-3 and secured a bid to postseason. The Tigers have won five of their eight games played in conference this season including victories over Boise State, New Mexico, Colorado State, UNLV and Nevada. Junior Sarah Schweiss leads the Tigers with seven goals (three game-winning), two assists and 54 shots. The midfielder from Monument, Colo. made the 2014 key returners list and was named third team All-C-USA as a sophomore. Prior to Sunday's game against the Bulldogs, Colorado College will face San Jose State (5-8-3) on Friday, Oct. 24 at the Spartan Stadium in San Jose, Calif.

Hines Honored For Hat Trick
After scoring the `Dogs first hat trick of the season in last week's victory over Colorado State, freshman forward Ashari Hines tallied two weekly accolades on Monday morning. The Sacramento, Calif. native was named the Mountain West Women's Offensive Player of the Week as well as the Bulldog Sysco Student-Athlete of the Week, marking the second MW weekly honor for the Bulldogs this season. Hines leads the freshman class with three goals (one game-winning), eight shots, six points and four shots on goal. The last hat trick by Fresno State was in 2011 as Callie Hancock led the `Dogs to a 3-1 victory over CSU Bakersfield.

Last Week
Fresno State went 1-1 at home over the weekend, falling to the University of Wyoming 2-0 on Friday and topping Colorado State 4-2. Freshman Ashari Hines lifted the `Dogs over the Rams in the 81st minute with the game-winning goal to mark Fresno State's first hat trick of the 2014 season. Freshman goalkeeper Domenique Banta made her 11th start on Sunday and currently holds a 3-7-0 record guarding the net for the Bulldogs.

Final Home Match
The `Dogs will end its regular season at Bulldog Stadium on Friday, Oct. 31 against the San Jose Spartans. The senior class will be honored before the game as it will be the last chance for Bulldog fans to catch the team in action on its home turf.

Bingham Demonstrates Leadership
Senior Jaycee Bingham currently holds the highest number of goals scored (10) for Fresno State this season, and has net five of her goals in Mountain West play. The senior midfielder scored once in Fresno State's matchup with New Mexico, led the `Dogs to a 3-2 (2OT) win over Nevada by scoring two of the `Dogs three goals, struck again against Utah State and tallied her last goal in the `Dogs Oct. 19 game against Colorado State. Bingham also leads the team in shot attempts (45), as well as shots on goal totaling 23 out of the team's 78. Five other Bulldogs have one goal each and Hines trails Bingham with three, in addition to three own-goals scored by Fresno State's opponents.

Bulldog Goalkeepers
Time in the net had been divided between sophomore Alyssa Wilson and freshman Domenique Banta, but more recently Banta took the lead with 11 starts and 985 minutes recorded from the 17 games played. The pair has a combined total of 77 saves in 2014, 31 recorded by Wilson, 43 by Banta and three team saves. Wilson has spent a total of 483 minutes guarding the net for the `Dogs with six starts and seven games played. Wilson and Banta are both new in the box for Fresno State this season.

Banta Earns MW Honors
Domenique Banta earned her first career weekly accolade by being named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week for the matches played Oct. 3-5. The freshman goalkeeper from Meridian, Idaho stopped six shots over the weekend, leading the `Dogs to a pair of conference wins over UNLV and Nevada. Banta helped Fresno State record its first shut out of the year over the Rebels with three saves and notched three additional saves in the overtime victory against Nevada.

Bulldog Coaches
Brian Zwaschka has entered his sixth season as the Bulldogs head soccer coach, assisted by goalie specialist Lauren McAdam and first-season assistant Sean Steele. The reigning Mountain West Coach of the Year, Zwaschka, led the `Dogs to a second place conference finish in 2013 with an overall record of 10-8-2 and 7-2-1 in MW play.

MW Rankings
Entering its third season in the Mountain West, Fresno State was chosen to finish sixth with 73 points in the Mountain West Preseason Coaches' Poll. Of the 12 collegiate programs in the running, San Diego State was favored to win the Mountain West regular-season title (115 points) by the panel of MW head soccer coaches. The conference welcomes Colorado College to the 2014 season, and the Tigers finished second in the standings with 112 points and five first-place votes. In addition to the first-place Aztecs and second-place Tigers, Boise State, New Mexico and Utah State were picked to place above Fresno State with a total of only 42 points separating the top half of the poll. Finishing four places above their predicted poll position, the Bulldogs stood second in the league at the conclusion of their 2013 regular season.

Returning Class
With only one true senior on the squad, the Fresno State coaching staff is relying heavily on upperclassmen to step into leadership positions. Jaycee Bingham is one of 12 Bulldog returners, but at the start of her fourth season at Fresno State she is placed into a headship role, as the only true senior on the team. In addition to Bingham, the squad welcomes back Sam Brechmann, Joana Lopez, Alyssa Cruz, Fanny Johansson, Dani Rodrigues, Alyssa Holsworth, Rianna Cota, Amanda Nunes,Angie Weiner, sophomore goal keeper Alyssa Wilson and Mountain West Freshman of the Year Ariana Holmes as they head into their 2014 season.

Newcomers
The 2014 Fresno State soccer roster is made up of 23 total players, in which 11 of them are new to the squad. Of the group of incoming freshmen, 10 of them come from various cities within California including Kacy Dunn from Clovis, Alissa Phamfrom Morgan Hill, Myra Delgadillo from Union City, Peyton Cline from Woodland, Maria Gomez from Los Angeles, Julia Camposfrom Dinuba, Miranda Rudolph from Fresno, Ashari Hines from Sacramento, Sara Jo Ciapponi from Alameda and Carly Brackenfrom Granada Hills. In addition to Johansson, freshman Domenique Banta is the second individual on the team from out of state, joining the squad from Meridian, Idaho. This large group of freshmen not only brings new talent but also adds depth as the `Dogs continue their season under head coach Brian Zwaschka.