Fresno State Athletics
2017: A Season in Review
1/4/2018 2:51:00 PM | Women's Soccer
FRESNO, Calif. – The 2017 Fresno State women's soccer team finished its season with its first Mountain West Championship run since 2013, and increased its win total for the fourth consecutive season. Â
The Bulldogs had seven home wins in front of the Red Wave this season, the most since 2007 (7). Fresno State had a four-game unbeaten home streak during MW conference play to help solidify its spot in postseason play. Fresno State's 10 wins were the most since 2013, and the six losses for the Bulldogs were the fewest since 2011.
Ninth year head coach Brian Zwaschka had his fourth winning season, and second consecutive winning season. Zwaschka has coached 180 games at the helm of the program (69-88-23). After this season, he has won more games than any other head coach in the program's 22-year history. This fall, Zwashcka was inducted into the Grand View University Hall of Fame.
As a team offensively, Fresno State finished the regular-season second in the MW in assists (29) and assists per game (1.53). The Bulldogs were third in points (89), and fourth in goals (30) and goals per game (1.58). Defensively, Fresno State led the MW in goals allowed and goals against average. The Bulldogs were fifth in the MW in shutout, while allowing the fewest shots in program history.
Individually, two Bulldogs earned All-MW selections. Sophomore forward Julia Glaser was named First-Team All-MW, and Myra Delgadillo was named Second-Team All-MW for the third consecutive season. Additionally, Glaser was the first Bulldog in program history to be named the National Player of the Week by United Soccer Coaches.
Non-Conference
Fresno State started the season on the road, earning its first shutout of the season with a 3-0 victory over Pacific. Freshman Ele Avery had her first collegiate assist in the match, she finished with two assists on the night.
The Bulldogs suffered a 2-1 loss on their home opener against Cal State Fullerton. Fresno State's lone goal was scored by senior midfielder Peyton Cline, her first of the season.
Fresno State went on the road for back-to-back road games. The Bulldogs suffered their second loss of the season on the road at Sacramento State 2-1 in overtime. They earned a double-overtime 1-1 draw against CSUN. Senior forward Kaitlyn Crooker scored her first collegiate goal in the draw.
The Bulldogs had a four-game win streak, starting with a 3-0 shutout at home against CSU Bakersfield. The win streak continued with an overtime win at home over UC Davis, win on the road over UC Santa Barbara 2-1 and a 1-0 overtime win over UC Riverside in Fresno.
MW Conference Play
Fresno State suffered back-to-back losses at home to start MW play. The Bulldogs fell to Boise State 2-1. Senior defender Anna Crawford scored her first collegiate goal in the match. Utah State outlasted Fresno State 1-0 in the second conference match of the season.
The Bulldogs went on the road for four consecutive games. Fresno State started the road trip with a 0-0 tie on the road at Wyoming. The Bulldogs earned their first conference win by defeating Colorado State on the road, 3-1. The road trip continued with a 1-0 loss at New Mexico. Senior defender Marina Kerrache scored her first collegiate goal in a 1-1 tie against San Diego State.
Through six games of conference play, Fresno State sat in eighth place. With only the top six conference teams receiving bids to the postseason tournament, the Bulldogs needed to make a run.
After being on the road for four-straight games, the Bulldogs returned to Fresno to host a four-game homestand. Fresno State earned its second conference win of the season, defeating UNLV 4-1. Glaser scored all four of Fresno State's goals against UNLV, tying the program record for most goals in a single game that was set in 2000. The four goals and eight points were MW season-highs. The Bulldogs continued the weekend with a 3-1 win over Nevada. Sophomore Melissa Ellis scored her first career goal in the win. Glaser was named The MW Offensive Player of the week after leading the Bulldogs in the 2-0 week with six goals.
With the wins over UNLV and Nevada, Fresno State moved into fifth place in the MW standings.
The Bulldogs won their third straight game defeating Air Force 1-0. Avery scored her first collegiate goal in the win over the Falcons. Fresno State finished its four-game homestand with a 3-1 win over Colorado College. The Bulldogs found themselves in fifth place with one conference game left.
Prior to Fresno State's game against San Jose State to finish conference play, an Air Force loss clinched the Bulldogs' 2017 MW Championship berth.
Fresno State fell to regular season champions San Jose State 1-0 in its regular season finale.
2017 MW Championship
The Bulldogs entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed, slated against No. 4 seed New Mexico in the first round.
Fresno State fell in an exhilarating quarterfinal match of the 2017 Mountain West Women's Soccer Tournament to New Mexico in sudden death penalty kicks.
Standout performances
Offense – Fresno State's offense was lead by Glaser, whose 16 goals accounted for 50 percent of the team's goals (16-32). Delgadillo also played a crucial role in the Bulldogs' defense with four goals and 10 assists.
Glaser's 16 goals in a single-season was a new program record, and her seven game-winning goals in a single-season was a new program record. The forward's 34 points were the most points in a single-season since 2000 (Jill Pearson).
Glaser was second in the MW in goals, second in game-winning goals and third in points.
Delagdillo's 10 assists were the most assists in a single-season since 2011 (Molly Nizzoli). The senior lead the MW in assists and assists per game.
Defense – Junior goalkeeper Nicole Theroux was in the box for the Bulldogs for 1724:56 minutes this season. Theroux recorded 70 saves this season, finishing the season ranked eighth in the MW. Theroux led the MW in the MW in goals against average.
The Bulldogs' defense was led by a quartet of seniors in Anna Crawford, Sara Jo Ciapponi, Alissa Pham and Angie Weiner. Fresno State's opponents were limited to 199 shots, the fewest shots allowed in program history. Crawford notched none goal and two assists on the season. Ciapponi, Pham and Weiner each recorded one assist.
Crawford played a team-high 1,901 minutes, and was the only field player to start all 20 games.
What's Next
The Bulldogs will return 10 letter winners and three starters. Zwaschka plans to bring back five seniors, 13 juniors and five sophomores, after graduating nine student-athletes.
"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.
