Bulldogs suffer narrow loss to Paladins in 2020 opener

Saturday, February 15

Greenville, SC

9:00 AM PT

Fresno State

0-1

Furman

2-0

Fresno State

Furman

Photo by: Kiel Maddox

Bulldogs suffer narrow loss to Paladins in 2020 opener

2/15/2020 1:25:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

By: Savannah Stoeckle / Communications Assistant

GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Fresno State lacrosse team had a back-and-forth scoring affair in its 2020 season opener, but ultimately fell to Furman 12-11 on the road on Saturday morning. Fresno State was led by sophomore attacker Sydney Skalstad who scored four goals on just six shots in the game.

"We are proud of how we opened our season, even though we did not acheive the desired outcome," said interim head coach Kara Concheck. "Offensively, we really shared the wealth and proved that we can score on every offensive possession if we play with confidence and composure. Defensively, we played as a unit. We had some unforced errors in the second half that were crucial to the outcome of the game. We will always be known for our relentless fight and I think that we really set that tone today. There were a lot of positive takeaways for this group. We are looking forward to continued growth and we are excited to bounce back against Winthrop."

It was a balanced scoring attack for the Bulldogs as seven different 'Dogs scored the team's 11 goals. Skalstad led the way with four, Marina Mayo added two, and Kayla Galet, Tiffiny Wallace, Megan Walaitis, Lauren Kiszely and Hennessey Evans each scored one. Walaitis also contributed to the offensive efforts with two assists.

Defensively, Laurel Maunder stayed anchored with 14 saves, a team-high four caused turnovers and four ground balls. As a team, the Bulldogs had 11 caused turnovers - their most since Mar. 29, 2019 at Bryant.

How it happened
Furman opened scoring in the first 30 seconds of play with a goal from junior Hannah Demis. It took just two and a half minutes before Kiszely scored the first Bulldog goal of 2020 to even the score at one apiece. Fresno State went on to score two goals from Mayo and Wallace just 24 seconds apart from one another to take a 3-1 lead with 26:22 left in the opening half.

The Paladins scored another, but the Bulldog offense kept firing as Skalstad netted her first goal of the game with 16:23 on the clock in the first half. A slight momentum change tied the game at four apiece as Furman scored back-to-back goals in under two minutes of clock time. Fresno State finished the half on a 3-1 run with a free-position goal from Mayo, and additional goals from Skalstad and Galet.

At halftime, Fresno State had a 7-5 lead.

Fresno State was outscored 7-4 in the second half, to seal its fate in the game. The Paladins found their offensive groove and used a 5-0 scoring run to earn their win on their home field and improve to 2-0 on the season. Skalstad and Evans scored the first goals of the second half for the 'Dogs before the Paladins went on their run to take a 11-9 lead.

Skalstad put the 'Dogs within one with 7:02 on the clock, but Furman's Lauren Farber scored her second goal of the game on a man-up opportunity to give the Paladins a two-goal lead with 4:58 left in regulation.

Walaitis scored with 2:44 left in the game to get the game back within one. Furman won the draw following the goal, but committed a turnover on its attacking side of the field. Fresno State had the offensive momentum with 57 seconds remaining, but the tying shot went wide as the final buzzer blew.

Game Notes

Skalstad tied her single-game career high with four goals.
Skalstad had her best shooting percentage (.667) since the 2019 season opener where she recorded the same.
Evans scored her first collegiate goal.
Evans and Emerson Johnson participated in their first collegiate games.
Jordyn Pandolfo led the team with five draw controls.
Mayo tied her single-game career high with four ground balls.
Fresno State lost its season opener for the first time since the 2015 season in a 22-7 loss at Stanford.

Up Next - Fresno State remains in South Carolina for a President's Day game at Winthrop on Monday at 8 a.m. PT. Live stats are available for Monday's game at Winthrop.

The Bulldogs host Stetson for their home opener on Sat. Feb. 22 at noon.

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