On paper, second-seeded Fresno State dominated the WAC Championship game and was set to celebrate its second consecutive tournament title – but the game isn’t decided on a stat sheet.
The ‘Dogs were handed their first home loss at the most crucial time against top-seeded Utah State in a 1-0 nail biter. Head coach Brian Zwaschka talked about the WAC championship game.
“It’s just a tough way to finish,” Zwashcka said following the loss. “The stage was set on our home field and we played OK, but in the end they had a game plan to counter attack. They found their one opportunity and that’s what finished it off.”
The one opportunity came in the 83rd minute for the Aggies, when Shantel Flanary found freshman Jade Tarver on the left side of the pitch to squeeze in the winning goal past freshman goalkeeper Katie DeVault.
Utah State continuously focused on defense, which helped it get the victory as the Bulldogs outshot the Aggies, 15-5. Senior goalkeeper and tournament MVP Molli Merrill recorded her sixth shutout of the season with five saves.
“I have all the confidence in the world in the back line in front of me,” Merrill said. “I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, I think we have the best defense in the WAC. We had no doubt in our minds that we would shut them out. We just needed that one counter attack to get that goal.”
The one counter attack was the difference maker, as the Aggies handed Fresno State its first loss on the new soccer and lacrosse facility, which eliminated the ‘Dogs from the opportunity of receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Throughout the game Fresno State clearly led the possession battle, outshooting the Aggies 8-2, and 4-0 on goal, but the Bulldog offense couldn’t find the net. Junior Callie Hancock led Fresno State with her two shots, but couldn’t manage to find the back of the net.
The second half was, in a word, frustrating for Fresno State. The ‘Dogs once again outshot the Aggies 7-3, and 5-1 on goal, but still could not score. Five minutes into the half, senior Laura Dodd found Hancock on a through in, but she failed to put the ball on target, sending it wide right of the goal post.
Later in the half, senior Molly Nizzoli took a corner kick that gave the ‘Dogs two opportunities to score, but both times Merrill was there to stop the play before it could develop.
Off the bench, freshman Jaycee Bingham applied pressure multiple times for the Bulldogs before being replaced by starter Morgan Castain. Bingham’s header with 22 minutes remaining in the game looked like it would be the go ahead goal, but it came up short.
When Castain returned, the ‘Dogs just kept shooting, inching closer and closer as time dwindled down.
With seven minutes remaining, Utah State made the biggest play of the game as it scored on a counter attack.
After that, Fresno State was forced into catch-up mode.
Frustrated by the Aggie defense, Castain let her emotions get the best of her and was ejected in the final minutes of the game. This proved to be a major blow to Fresno State as it left the squad one woman down.
With the clock winding down, Fresno State pressed on, looking for any chance at a goal. The ‘Dogs were hoping to force overtime before the referee’s final whistle, but couldn’t knot things up at 1-1.
Fresno State closes out a memorable season at 11-5-5 overall, and 4-1-2 in the WAC. Seniors Dodd, Nizzoli and Kendall VanDine were named to the all-tournament team in their final game in Bulldog red. Zwaschka gave some thoughts on the outcome of the game.
“It was a team effort,” Zwaschka said of his defense. “Utah State has the mentality to not get scored on and it has served them well all year. In this instance it was no different. We had some chances, but credit to them. They were desperate to keep it out and they did exactly that.”
