’Dogs fall to No. 20 Waves 3-0

Friday, August 26

Fresno, Calif.

7 p.m. PT

Fresno State

0-3

Pepperdine

3-0

Pepperdine

Fresno State

Photo by: Keith Kountz

’Dogs fall to No. 20 Waves 3-0

8/26/2016 10:40:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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Fresno State sophomore goalkeeper Nicole Theroux notched a career-high eight saves in the match

By: Jason Kelm / Communications Assistant

FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State women's soccer team fell 3-0 to No. 20 Pepperdine on Friday night at the Fresno State Soccer and Lacrosse Field. Sophomore goalkeeper Nicole Theroux notched eight saves for the Bulldogs, the most in a game for the 'Dogs since they recorded 13 against Colorado College on Oct. 26, 2014.

"Nicole did a nice job tonight," Fresno State head coach Brian Zwaschka said. "One of the things we worked on was making sure we were protecting the goalkeeper more so that it would limit the interventions that she would have to make, or at least put her in a better position to make those interventions. I thought that she did a good job seeing most of them early."

In the first half, Fresno State (0-3) and Pepperdine (3-0) traded shots for the first 40 minutes until the Waves' Bri Vesalli found the back of the net to lead them into halftime up 1-0. Pepperdine didn't slow down as the game went on, getting off 17 shots with 11 on goal, while the Bulldogs had 16 shots with two on goal.

"We had a good game plan from the beginning," Zwaschka said. "The players were up for it, we knew we underperformed last Sunday and we wanted to set things right. Obviously being at home, we wanted to play strongly in front of our home crowd."

The Waves would seal the game after goals in the 77th and 81st minutes as the Bulldogs were a player down after junior Sara Jo Ciapponi received two yellow cards.

"We knew this was a really strong team and they would take their chances if we gave some to them," Zwaschka said. "We feel like the game could have gone either way, but we got sloppy and lost a little bit of discipline and that changed the game and it was too hard to come back."

Fresno State junior forward Myra Delgadillo led the 'Dogs with four shots, while senior captain Alyssa Holsworth added three. Theroux, who saw her first start this season, now has 11 saves on the year with a 2.82 goals against average.

Fresno State travels to Portland State (0-2) next Friday, followed by a road trip to UC Davis (1-2) next Sunday. The next time the Red Wave will see the Bulldogs at home will be Sept. 9 as they host Pacific.

"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.