Fresno State Athletics
Broncos Squeeze by `Dogs in Final Minutes
9/7/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
By: Kimberly Fisher
kimfisher@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
Fresno, Calif. - The Fresno State soccer team showed determination in the Sunday afternoon match up against No. 16 Santa Clara but fell short in the final minutes as the Broncos escaped with a 4-3 victory at Buck Shaw Stadium.
"We executed a team plan today that put us in a position to win against one of the top teams in the country," head coach Brian Zwaschka said. "Credit to Santa Clara for stopping us in the end, but we made them earn it and I couldn't be prouder. This team turned a corner today that we've seen coming for a while now."
Senior Jaycee Bingham wasted no time giving the Bulldogs the lead, in the sixth minute she recorded the first goal of the game assisted by Miranda Rudolph. Santa Clara answered back with a goal in the 29th minute but Bingham put the `Dogs back on top with a goal assisted by Peyton Cline.
In addition to Bingham's two goals in the first half, Alyssa Holsworth netted her first goal of the season with 30 seconds left in the first half, leaving the Broncos trailing 3-1 at halftime.
Bingham leads the Bulldogs with four goals on the season and 19 total shots in the six games played so far. Domenique Banta had her second start of the season in which she recorded three saves in the first 30 minutes of the match to hold the Broncos at only one goal in the first half. Banta has 11 total saves in the 185 minutes of playing time she's acquired this season.
The Broncos rallied back to score a goal in the first minutes of the second half, then two back-to-back goals with only ten minutes left to play. The `Dogs came up short 4-3 at the conclusion of the match but portrayed fight and determination against a tough opponent.
Fresno State returns home for a one-game weekend against Cal State Fullerton on Friday, Sept. 12. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Bulldog Stadium.
"We will be happy to play at home in front of our own fans this week," Zwaschka said. "We intend to build one step more towards being ready for conference play."
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