'Dogs host Bears in 2018 home opener

FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State women's lacrosse team will host Mercer in its 2018 home opener on Friday, Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. PT in the Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium.

"We love playing in front of the Red Wave," said head coach Jessica Giglio. "It's extremely special to play in our stadium and show how much we have improved since last season. It's always great to play as a team in the Fresno sunshine."

How to follow – Fans can follow along with live stats (HERE). The game will be live streamed on www.Flosports.tv.

The 2018 home opener will serve as Autism Awareness Night. Five local autism awareness groups will be honored at halftime of the game.

Promotions – Pregame, there will be a bounce house and a poster making station available for fans. At halftime, there will be a Chevron t-shirt toss for fans.

QUICK LOOK AT THE 'DOGS
Fresno State is 1-1 this season.

Reviewing last week – The Bulldogs had a 1-1 week, with a win over La Salle and a loss to Binghamton.

Fresno State defeated La Salle 8-6. As a team, Fresno State owned the advantage in shots (24-22) and ground balls (17-12). Both teams recorded 10 saves. La Salle posted more draw controls 9-7. Sarah Bloise and Ryleigh Bone led the 'Dogs to victory with two goals apiece. On defense, Olivia Mannon finished the game with team-high five ground balls, team-high seven caused turnovers and notched two draw controls.

The 'Dogs fell to Binghamton 14-8. As a team, Fresno State had more ground balls (16-13). Both teams notched nine saves. Binghamton recorded more shots (35-25) and draw controls (13-11). On offense, Bloise scored four goals on five shots, and grabbed one ground ball. On defense, Mannon had a team-high five draw controls, two caused turnovers and two ground balls.

MPSF Player of the Week -- Mannon was named MPSF Defensive Player of the Week and Mackenzie Wallevand was named MPSF Rookie of the Week. Mannon led Fresno State's defense with seven draw controls, nine caused turnovers and seven ground balls on the week. Wallevand made her Fresno State debut, finishing the week with two goals, seven shots, three draw controls, two assists, two ground balls and one caused turnover.

SCOUTING MERCER
The Bears are 0-1 this season. This will be Mercer's first road match this season.

The Bears were picked to finish second in the Southern Conference preseason poll, and had four players on the preseason All-SoCon team. Mercer finished the 2017 season 13-6 (7-3 ASUN). The Bears bring back 20 letterwinners, including 11 starters.

Last week – Mercer went 0-1 with a 14-7 loss to Liberty at home. Liberty owned the advantage in shots (38-21), ground balls (28-20) and draw controls (17-6), Both teams logged 10 saves. The Bears were led by Erica Coyne and Lindsey Zeltwanger in the match. Coyne scored a team-high three goals. Zeltwanger scored two goals, on a team-high nine shots, had a team-high three caused turnovers and grabbed a team-high three draw controls.

2017 IN REVIEW
Fresno State finished the 2017 season 9-7(2-6 MPSF), the first winning season for the Bulldogs in program history. As a team, the 2017 squad broke 25 program records.

Fresno State returns 15 letterwinners, including nine starters. The Bulldogs reload their roster with 10 newcomers.

On offense, the Bulldogs return a key duo in Tiffiny Wallace and Sarah Bloise. The duo finished the 2017 season with a combined 83 goals, 37 assists 54 draw controls and 120 points.

On defense, the Bulldogs return another key duo in Abigail Bergevin and Alex Romanowski. The duo combined for 50 ground balls, 37 caused turnovers and nine draw controls.

In the box, Fresno State returns its starting goalie Laurel Maunder. Maunder finished the 2017 season with 136 saves, 25 ground balls and seven caused turnovers.

FLOSPORTS PARTNERSHIP
Fresno State has expanded on a partnership with FloSports, an innovator in live digital sports and original content, to air 35 events live across five different sports: baseball, lacrosse, softball, track and field, and water polo exclusively on FloLive.tv, FloSoftball.com, FloTrack.com, and FloSwimming.com, respectively.

All five lacrosse home games will be streamed on FloSports.

To access live and on-demand coverage of Fresno State events for each sport, users must sign up to become a monthly or annual PRO subscriber on any FloSports site. Either subscription unlocks access to premium content across the entire FloSports network. Watch the games across all screens by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Roku or Apple TV 4. For more information, visit www.FloSports.tv.

"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.

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'Dogs host Bears in 2018 home opener

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Players Mentioned

Abigail Bergevin

Sarah Bloise

Ryleigh Bone

Olivia Mannon

Laurel Maunder

Alex Romanowski

Tiffiny Wallace

Mackenzie Wallevand

Fresno State Athletics