'Dogs head down 99 to Bakersfield

Saturday, August 28

Bakersfield, CA

7 P.M. PT

Fresno State

CSU Bakersfield

Photo by: CARY EDMONDSON - FRESNO STATE

'Dogs head down 99 to Bakersfield

8/27/2021 6:59:00 PM | Women's Soccer

FS Notes - Week 2

By: Josh Mitchell / Assistant Director of Strategic Communications

FRESNO, Calif. – Fresno State returns to the pitch this weekend, again remaining on the road, but this time much closer to home. The Bulldogs will travel down the 99 on Saturday face CSU Bakersfield under the lights for a 7 p.m. kickoff at the CSUB Main Soccer Field

Fresno State (0-2-0) at CSU Bakersfield (0-1-1)
Date: Saturday, Aug. 28
Time: 7 p.m. PT
Where: CSUB Main Soccer Field (Bakersfield, Calif.)
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: Sidearmstats

THE BONES
• The 'Dogs are coming off a 0-2 weekend in the Beaver state against Oregon (5-0) and Oregon State (2-1).
• Fresno State tested its youth during the opening week. Five of the freshmen earned starts. Five saw at least 100 minutes of action while three others played at least 45 minutes combined between the two games.
• The Bulldogs' lone goal of the weekend came from the right foot of Sam Tristan. She became the first Bulldog freshman to score the team's first goal in a season since Sydni Lunt in 2016.
• Fresno State brought back 15 players from a team that finished 6-3-1 during the spring in a Mountain West-only shortened season.
• The 19 points Fresno State earned was second-most in the West Division and third-most overall in the Mountain West. It was their second-highest finish since joining the conference.
Of the 15 returners, eight played in all 10 games during the spring while another five made appearances in nine games.
• All three of Fresno State's All-MW First Team selections from spring return to the pitch this fall (Kassandra Ceja, Robyn McCarthy, Lorena Montanes).
• Fresno State brought 11 new faces into the fold this season. Kansas transfer Chais Wright has been with the team since the winter while Fresno City College transfer Megan Galvan joined the squad during the summer along with a nine-member freshman class.

SCOUTING CSU BAKERSFIELD
• The Roadrunners sit at 0-1-1 the opening weekend of play.
• CSU Bakersfield opened the season with a 1-1 draw in Sacramento against the Sacramento State on Saturday.
• On Thursday, CSUB opened its home schedule with a 1-0 defeat to Azusa Pacific on a penalty kick in the 67th minute.
• The Roadrunners have been outshot 38-12 with a 16-6 disadvantage in shots on target. They've also seen their opponents hold a 14-4 advantage in corner kicks.
• Bakersfield's lone goal in its two matches came from the penalty spot from substitute Angelica Hurtado.
• Freshman Flavia Burrell has started both games for CSUB, producing 14 saves and allowing two goals on 38 shots.

LEARNING CURVE
Week 1 for the 'Dogs proved to be a steep learning curve against Oregon and Oregon State, being outscored 7-1. Fresno State was blitzed in the opener on the turf in Eugene (5-0) before rebounding for a much more even match three days later in Corvallis (2-1).
• The Bulldogs faced 24 shots compared to their seven.
• Five of the freshmen earned starts during the two matches.
• Jordan Lau of Honolulu started both matches at center back, playing alongside seniors Shantay Tamez in the first game and Robyn McCarthy in the second.
• Along with Lau, four other freshmen saw more than 100 minutes. Three others played at least 45 minutes combined between the two games.

FRESHMAN SCORER
Fresno State's first goal of the season was scored by Sam Tristan. A goal that has since gone viral on both Tik Tok and Instagram, the Clovis native became the first Bulldog freshman to score the team's first goal in a season since Sydni Lunt in 2016.
• Ironically, both goals were scored in season opening losses as Lunt's came in a 3-2 double overtime defeat to UCSB.

LOOKING BACK AT THE PRESEASON
• Though Fresno State dropped both of its exhibition games last week, head coach Brian Zwaschka saw enough adjustments from half to half, game to game to maintain his positive outlook on the team and keep his expectations high for the season.
Trailing 1-0 for much of the first half at Cal Poly, an own goal in the 45th minute proved to be the difference. Despite controlling much of the second half, the 'Dogs could only find the back of the net once.
• Three days later, Fresno State hosted defending champion, and preseason No. 2, Santa Clara. Despite a 6-2 final score line, the Bulldogs held the advantage in possession but were unable to match the clinical finishing of the Broncos.

CEJA EYEING ANOTHER JUMP IN YEAR TWO
Tying for the team lead in goals during the spring, sophomore Kassandra Ceja's prowess in the attacking third earned Coach Zwaschka's trust to move her from an attacking midfield role to center forward. The Lathrop, Calif. native left little doubt in the preseason of what is to come, having a hand in all three of the Bulldogs' goals. Ceja earned and converted a PK against Cal Poly. Against Santa Clara, she scored Fresno State's first on a free kick and then assisted the Bulldogs' second.
• One of the top newcomers in the conference during the spring, Ceja became the first Bulldog freshman since 2002 to lead the program in goals in a season (4). She finished the season with 10 points in 10 games.

MCCARTHY BACK FOR FIFTH YEAR
After playing in the middle of the defense during the spring, fifth-year senior Robyn McCarthy moved back to her midfield spot during the Bulldogs' exhibition games, and for Game 1 at Oregon. She then moved back center back due to an injury in Game 2.
• McCarthy ranks second in the Mountain West in total assists (10) since 2019.
• The veteran has featured in Fresno State's last 50 matches, starting 45 of them.
• McCarthy is utilizing her extra year of eligibility which was awarded to all fall and winter athletes during the 2020-21 season.

CONTAIN HER IF YOU CAN
Put her in a tight space and Lorena Montanes is more often than not going to find a way out. Like avoiding on-rushing bulls in Pamplona, the senior has a knack for slipping away from defenders and being a significant cog in the Bulldogs' attack.
• Montanes has recorded 12 points (4G/4A) since the start of 2019.
• The senior has been involved in five game winners during her career (3G/2A).
• Prior to Fresno State's exhibition at Cal Poly, Head Coach Brian Zwaschka announced that Montanes would join Robyn McCarthy as a captain this season

11 NEW FACES
Following a spring which saw only eight players depart the program, three due to graduation, the Bulldogs added another 10 to go along with Chais Wright who sat out the spring due to transferring mid-year.
• Two of the team's new comers are transfers: Chais Wright (Kansas), Megan Galvan (Fresno City College). Wright started both exhibition games while Galvan started against Cal Poly and appeared against Santa Clara.
• Nine freshmen joined the team this month. All nine saw time during the exhibition week.

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
Six of the Bulldogs' 26 players hail from outside of the United States. The 'Dogs have two players from Canada (Kesaia Bruni, Jaylyn Wright) who are both freshmen, two from Spain (Lorena Montanes, Mariona Segales) who are both seniors, one junior from Colombia (Valentina Vivas) and one freshman from Sweden (Ella Wilson).

STAYING HOME
Nearly one third of this year's roster chose to stay home and play for their local program. Two players are from Fresno while another six are from Clovis. Two other players remained in the Central Valley and are from within an hour of campus (Merced, Hanford).

CLOVIS STATE
While the school's name may be Fresno State, some members jokingly refer to the team as Clovis State due to six players all coming from Clovis High School. Five of them (Callie Theisen, Kylie Lucero, Brooklin Woolf, Julia Hardwick, Sam Tristan) all played on the same varsity team in 2017. Two year later, the underclassmen in the 2017 group (Woolf, Hardwick, Tristan) were joined by Isabella Anderson for both the 2018 and 2019 season.

'DOGS PICKED FOURTH IN PRESEASON
• Despite finishing spring with the third-highest point total in the Mountain West during the spring, Fresno State was picked to finish fourth in the league, three points behind Boise State. It was the same spot the Bulldogs were predicted to finish prior to the 2019 season.
• New Mexico and San Diego State, which played in the conference championship game during the spring, were picked 1-2 in the league.

"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley" – The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in life. To become a BDF member, please visit bulldogfoundation.org.

Follow us on:
Twitter: @FresnoStateWSOC
Instagram: FresnoStateWSOC