No. 6 Fresno State upsets No. 3 Colorado State in penalty kicks to advance in MW Championship

Tuesday, November 5

Boise, ID

10:00 AM PT

Fresno State

9-6-4, 5-4-2

Colorado State

12-5-3, 7-3-2

Fresno State

Colorado State

No. 6 Fresno State upsets No. 3 Colorado State in penalty kicks to advance in MW Championship

11/5/2019 4:15:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Taylor Martinez / Communications Assistant

BOISE, Idaho – The No. 6-seeded Fresno State women's soccer team upset No. 3 seed Colorado State in the Mountain West Championship Tournament quarterfinals in a thrilling match that went to penalty kicks, in Boas Soccer Complex on Tuesday afternoon.

"I want to give Colorado State a ton of credit," said head coach Brian Zwaschka, "What a season they've had. In the end, I think our team showed some spirit. They made sure that they stayed calm and composed toward the end of the match when they were in a stressful situation. I'm really proud of them. Milena (Zink) was able to guess right on a few penalty kicks and that was great. She is a very skilled goalkeeper. We have a great goalkeeping unit, and they take the time to prepare for these type of situations. I couldn't be prouder of her."

After 110 minutes of play the match remained knotted 0-0, pushing it into penalty kicks. Penalty kicks from Kasidee Wiley, Ele Avery and Jordan Brown combined with three outstanding saves from Milena Zink, eliminated the Rams to give the Bulldogs their first-ever MW Tournament win.

Fresno State moves to 9-6-4 (5-4-2 MW) this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Avery, Wiley, Tori Nicolo, Megan Amick, Lorena Montanes, Sydni Lunt, Ele Avery, Shantay Tamez, Robyn McCarthy, Emma Chivers and Bailee Kern recorded the start for the Bulldogs with Valentina Vivas in goal.

The Rams opened the match with a shot on goal and Vivas grabbed the first save of the match.

The offensive momentum swayed to the Bulldogs as Fresno State took three consecutive shots, but the Rams battled back following with three consecutive shots of their own.

Brown finished the first half with a solid look at the goal, but she missed just wide to send the match into halftime knotted 0-0.

After 45 minutes, Fresno State owned the advantage in shots 5-4 and corners 2-1. Vivas logged two saves.

Goalkeeper Milena Zink subbed in for the Bulldogs to start the second half.

Fresno State wasted no time getting back into the attack, taking three shots within the first 10 minutes. McCarthy nearly gave the Bulldogs the lead with a shot that ricocheted off the post in the 50^th minute.

CSU found some offensive energy in the 75^th minute to get back in the match with four straight shots, but Zink stayed strong in goal to grab four clutch saves.
After 90 minutes, the match was tied 0-0 and the battled raged on into overtime.

Both shots taken in the first overtime period belonged to the Bulldogs. Montanes went for the golden goal with three seconds left, but the Rams' goalkeeper was able to make the save to send the match into double overtime.

The Bulldogs came within inches of ending the match in the 109^th minute, when Brown sent the ball to the bottom center of the goal but the Rams goalkeeper was there again to grab the save.

Fresno State's defense led by All-MW Second Team selection Megan Amick, who played all 110 minutes in the backfield, prevented Colorado State from taking a single shot during overtime.

Wiley kicked off penalty kicks, putting the Bulldogs up 1-0. Zink dove to make a save to give Fresno State the advantage.

Audrey Reyna took the second kick for the Bulldogs, which was saved by the Colorado State goalkeeper and the Rams made their second penalty kick to tie it 1-1.

Avery stepped up and sent her penalty kick to the back of the net, giving the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead. Zink made another stellar save to put Fresno State in a good position with two kicks left.

Brown went fourth for Fresno State, and she sent the ball to the upper left of the goal over the goalkeepers head to go up 3-1. Zink sealed in the Bulldogs' win with her third save, punching Fresno State's ticket to the semifinals.

NOTABLES:

Fresno State owned the advantage in shots 16-13.
Colorado State had more corner kicks 4-3.
Fresno State wins its first-ever match in the MW Championship Tournament.
Fresno State will make its second appearance in the MW semifinals.
The last time Fresno State was in a semifinal match was in 2013, when the Bulldogs got a first round bye as the No. 2 seed.
Milena Zink and Valentina Vivas combined for six saves.
Robyn McCarthy posted a team-high four shots.
Jordan Brown recorded a career-high three shots.

WHAT'S NEXT
No. 6 Fresno State will face No. 2 San Diego State in the semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 10 a.m. PT on the Mountain West Network.

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