Freshman Holly Cisneros sheds tears of joy and hugs junior Vanessa
Swalwell after the team’s 17-12 win over Long Island. The win was
the first in program history for Fresno State.
Brad Soo / The Collegian
After three winless seasons, Fresno State’s 17-12 win over Long Island is the first in program history
The Fresno State lacrosse team finally has a win under its belt, beating Long Island 17-12 for the team’s first victory after the program’s 45th game in history.
In just her third game as head coach, Jessica Pausewang coached the ‘Dogs to their first win Saturday at Bulldog Stadium.
“The team has been working so hard and they wanted to come out and show everyone how hard they have been working,” Pausewang said in a release by the university. “I’m so excited. The support has been great and I’m just so happy for everyone. They were focused from early on and it all paid off today.”
The lacrosse team, which had its inaugural season in 2009, went winless for three seasons before recording its first win Saturday, ending its 44-game losing streak.
Senior Callie Seidman, who has been with the team since its inception, was finally repaid for three years of hard work.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Seidman said. “This was a long-time coming and we have worked so hard to get to this point. We can’t wait to build on this win.”
The Bulldogs came out early, scoring in the first minute on a Taylor Fiehler goal.
Long Island’s Shakoya Smith responded just three minutes later to tie, but Fresno State’s Briana Hetherington scored an unassisted goal to give the Bulldogs a lead they would never relinquish.
After an 8-6 halftime score, Fresno State went on a 5-1 scoring run to cap the start of the second half. Freshman Holly Cisneros started the run, scoring two of her three goals in the first four minutes.
Hetherington, a senior, had a career day for the ‘Dogs, scoring four goals while assisting three more. Her goals and assists were both game highs.
Long Island’s Ashley Delaney netted four goals and Shakoya Smith added three more but the Fresno State defense prevented the two from inflicting anymore damage.
Goalkeeper Katie Wilbur kept Long Island from reaching the net with 13 saves, 10 of which came in the second half.
The Bulldogs outshot the Blackbirds 41-31 for the game, and drew more draw controls for the win.
Fresno State improved to 1-2 this season and will travel to San Diego State on Tuesday before heading home on Thursday to play Central Connecticut.