Bulldogs prepare for home opener versus Stetson

Saturday, February 22

Fresno, CA

12:00 PM PT

Fresno State

Stetson

Photo by: Keith Kountz

Bulldogs prepare for home opener versus Stetson

2/20/2020 3:30:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Game Notes (PDF)

By: Savannah Stoeckle / Communications Assistant

Fresno State (1-1) vs. Stetson (1-0)
Saturday, Feb. 22 • 12:00 p.m. PT • Fresno, Calif.
LIVE: Stats • Live updates on Twitter
Series History: Fresno State leads, 3-0

QUICK LOOK - Fresno State is 1-1 under first year head coach Kara Concheck and her staff. Fresno State will host its home opener on Saturday at the Soccer & Lacrosse Stadium.

PROMOTIONS - Saturday is Fresno State's pink game. Join the Bulldogs in honoring special breast cancer survivors this weekend. The team will be wearing pink warm-up gear for the occasion.

As always, parking and admission is free.

NEW HEAD COACH IN TOWN - Fresno State announced that former assistant coach Kara Concheck would take over as the program's interim head coach on Jan. 8, 2020. Concheck, a Bulldog alumni, comes back to Fresno State after most recently serving as the head women's lacrosse coach at Saint Francis (2016-19).

Concheck announced the additions of Princess Zabel and Abigail Bergevin to her staff as assistant coaches on Feb. 10. The pair will assist with the Bulldog defensive group.

Fresno State and Concheck earned their first win together with a 17-12 victory at Winthrop on Feb. 17.

CHANGE IN PACE - Fresno State has opened the 2020 season with a 1-1 record, a difference from 2-0 at this time last season. Despite the small change in the wins and losses mark, the Bulldogs have bettered themselves in assists, ground balls, draw controls and caused turnovers at this point in the season compared to last.

In Fresno State's first two games of 2019, the 'Dogs had 13 assists, 38 ground balls, 28 draw controls and 11 caused turnovers. After the first two games of 2020, Fresno State has 15 assists, 42 ground balls, 29 draw controls and 16 caused turnovers. The Bulldogs recorded 11 caused turnovers in the season opener at Furman, which was their most in a game since Mar. 2019.

BALANCED OFFENSE - The Bulldogs have had eight goal scorers in 2020 behind team leaders Sydney Skalstad and Kayla Galet who have netted seven goals on the year. Megan Walaitis (5), Marina Mayo (4) and Tiffiny Wallace (2) also account for some team goals while Hannah Krats, Lauren Kiszely and Hennessey Evans have one apiece.

HOW MAY WE ASSIST YOU? - Junior Lauren Kiszely leads the MPSF and is No. 14 in the NCAA with six assists on the season. Kiszely is No. 8 in the nation in assists per game (3). The junior Bulldog dished five assists in the Bulldogs 17-12 win at Winthrop which tied for most assists in a single game at Fresno State. The Bulldogs have 15 assists this season and lead the MPSF, and are ranked No. 15, in assists per game (7.5).

FIERY FRESHMEN - The Bulldogs added 10 freshman for the 2020 season, many of which have proved themselves to earn starting and participating spots on the roster. The Bulldog freshmen account for 10 of the 30 athletes on the lacrosse roster, and cover all four positions. The freshman class is the largest class for Fresno State, ahead of the eight-woman senior class.

Four Bulldog freshmen have seen action this season as Emerson Johnson got her first collegiate start at Winthrop, and Bailey Truex also appeared in the win. Katelyn Trainor made her first appearance in the season opener at Furman. Hennessey Evans has had the biggest impact on the Bulldogs' season thus far. She has appeared in both games and has scored one goal, fired six shots, grabbed seven ground balls and three draw controls.

'DOGS IN THE MPSF - After its first weekend of competition, Fresno State has made a mark on the conference standings. In single-game stats, a Bulldog leads in goals, assists, points, saves and caused turnovers.

As a team, the Bulldogs lead the MPSF in assists per game (7.5), draw controls per game (14.5), points per game (21.5), shots per game (32) and shots on goal per game (24.5).

LAST SEASON - Fresno State finished the 2019 season with a 7-7 (0-2 MPSF) record. The Bulldogs had their best start to a season with a 3-0 start a season ago. The Bulldogs knocked off two Pac-12 opponents for the first time in program history to start the season, including their first-ever win versus Oregon.

SCOUTING STETSON (1-0, 0-0 ASUN)

Stetson is 1-0 this season after its season-opening home win over Oregon. The Hatters won 18-15.
Stetson won its season-opener for the first time in the history of the eight-year program.
The Hatters were led by Marina Rotella who scored six goals on six shots, and added one assist.
Stetson had nine scorers in their 18-15 win.
Junior Riley Reagan led the team with five assists. In the 2019 season, Reagan ranked 1^st in the ASUN in assists (40), tying the program record for assists in a season.
Reagan was the only Hatter to be selected to the 2020 preseason all-conference team.
Stetson was picked to finish fifth in the eight-team conference.

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