Women's Soccer Opens Mountain West Play at Home

9/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Sept. 24, 2014

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

Game 10 • Fresno State (1-8-0) vs. New Mexico (2-3-0)
Friday, Sept. 26, 2014 (7 p.m. PT)
Fresno, Calif. --- Bulldog Stadium
Live Stats: gobulldogs.com

Game 11 • Fresno State (1-8-0) vs. San Diego State (5-2-1)
Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014 (1 p.m. PT)
Fresno, Calif. --- Bulldog Stadium
Live Stats: gobulldogs.com

`Dogs Begin Conference
Fresno State opens Mountain West play this weekend with two home games. The `Dogs host New Mexico (2-3-0) on Friday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. and then San Diego State on Sunday, Sept. 28 with a 1 p.m. kickoff at Bulldog Stadium. Both games will stream live on the Mountain West Network.

About the Lobos (2-3-0)
Coming off of a 4-1 win against New Mexico State, the Lobos head into conference play with an overall record of 2-3-0. New Mexico's roster consists of one senior, seven juniors, seven sophomores and 13 freshmen including 11 letter winners and six starters from last season's squad. The Lobos were picked to finish fourth in the 2014 Preseason Mountain West Poll, two spots higher than the Bulldogs. New Mexico has had 10 goals by seven different players in 2014. Sophomore Ruth Bruciaga leads the team with three goals, followed by junior midfielder Dylann O'Connor with two. Bruciaga earned the MW Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week honor and was named Soccer Player of the Week by College Sports Madness for her performance last weekend against the Aggies. New Mexico is headed by Kit Vela in her 14th year coaching the women's soccer team. Vela is second in Mountain West all-time overall wins with 114 in her career.

About the Aztecs (5-2-1)
San Diego State was favored in the Preseason Mountain West Coaches Poll and currently stands in first place with a preconference record of 5-2-1 (.688). The Aztecs are coming off of a split weekend with a 2-0 loss to USD followed by a 3-0 defeat over Idaho State. The two-time defending MW regular-season and tournament championship team is led by senior Kelsey Booth, who is tied with freshman Angela Mitchell with three goals apiece. Booth has recorded 13 shots (6 on goal) and two assists in the 607 minutes played for the Aztecs. Junior Melanie Vaughn has seen the most time defending the net for San Diego with six starts in the seven games played. Vaughn is responsible for 24 of the 30 total saves and holds a 4-2-1 record for the Aztecs going into conference play this weekend. Head coach for San Diego State, in his eighth-year, is Mike Friesen who is accompanied by associate head coach Juan Pablo Favero and assistants Edgar Analdo and Chassion Griggs.

Head-to-Head
This will be the fifth meeting for Fresno State and New Mexico. The last time the two teams faced each other was in 2013 in Albuquerque, N.M. where the `Dogs fell to the Lobos, 1-0. San Diego has won three straight matchups against the Bulldogs and takes a 9-2 series record into Sunday's game.

Split Time in the Net
Time in the net has been virtually split in half between sophomore Alyssa Wilson and freshman Domenique Banta. The pair has a combined total of 48 saves in 2014, 29 recorded by Wilson and 17 by Banta. Wilson has spent a total of 393 minutes guarding the net for the Bulldogs with Banta only trailing by 59 minutes. Wilson and Banta are both new in the box for Fresno State this season.

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.

Bingham leads the `Dogs
Senior Jaycee Bingham currently holds the highest number of goals scored (five) for Fresno State this season with one in the home opener against Eastern Washington, another against Drake University, two in the Bulldogs match up with No. 16 Santa Clara and a final goal against Cal Poly. Bingham also leads the team in shot attempts with 22 of 75 as well as shots on goal with 11 out of the team's total of 36.

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 upperclassman 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.