The Fresno State soccer team lost a tough one on Senior Day, falling 2-1 to the UNLV Rebels.
The afternoon started off with the team honoring its four seniors; Sam Brechmann, Alyssa Cruz, Fanny Johansson, and Rianna Cota for their contributions to the program.
“When they commit to you and they actually get here, teaching them and watching them grow, every year it’s really special and this class is no different,” head coach Brian Zwaschka said. “With a group of four young ladies that have completely changed on the field in terms of their game and have developed into special young women. To see all those things come together and then you have to say goodbye, that kind of stinks.”
Needing a victory to keep them in contention for the Mountain West Conference Championship next week, the ‘Dogs (5-11-1, 4-5-1) took to the field looking to feed off the energy of the senior festivities and Friday’s conference victory over Nevada.
Controlling the ball was a focus for the ‘Dogs early as they maintained possession for majority of the start of the first half. The ‘Dogs quickly jumped out to a 3-0 shot lead including two corners early but could not make anything of the early opportunities.
“We came out to win today,” Zwaschka said. “We wanted to push for our seniors, so we threw everything that we had offensively at our opponent today.”
The ‘Dogs maintained their possession throughout the half but made a costly mistake in the 24th minute. On one of their only rushes of the half, UNLV had a player taken down in the box by defender Sara Jo Ciapponi resulting in a penalty kick. Chidera Akubuilo stepped up and pounded away the penalty kick, giving UNLV an early 1-0 lead.
Suffering another costly blunder in the 32nd minute, the ‘Dogs had a defender collide with the goalie on a highly contested ball, leaving a wide-open net for Brittney Gideon to score on. The goal gave the Rebels a 2-0 lead late in the first half.
Fresno State clearly lead possession in the first half, finishing with 10 shots to the Rebels’ three. The ‘Dogs outnumbered the Rebels in corners as well, totaling five for the half to the lone one the Rebels generated.
The second half continued right where the first ended, with the ‘Dogs controlling the ball from the opening kick. In a half that was controlled heavily by Fresno State yet again, the ‘Dogs had opportunity after opportunity as they generated 22 more shots and four more corner kicks.
“Playing home, we always want to try and be the aggressor,” Zwaschka added. “Generally we’re a team that tries to keep the ball and generate some attack. In the later part of our season, we finally started clicking and today was no different, but sometimes it’s a cruel game.”
The ‘Dogs were finally able to cash in late in the half as sophomore forward Alissa Pham found the back of the net off an assist from junior midfielder Angie Weiner, cutting the UNLV lead in half at 2-1 with just over 17 minutes to go.
Continuing their pressure, the ‘Dogs would press the Rebels all the way down to the final whistle trying to get that game-tying goal. Cota would generate the ‘Dogs 32nd shot of the match that hit the post with five seconds remaining, ending the all-out attempt to even the score as the ‘Dogs came up just short in their final home game of the season.
The 32 shots generated by the ‘Dogs were a new season high, topping the previous season-high off 22 earlier on in the season.
“The bottom line is we need to keep doing what we’re doing,” Zwaschka said. “We need to find that little bit of poise in finishing, whether it’s the entry pass or it’s actually getting those shots in the box. That fact that we’re creating opportunities is the first step, and we know that. We have to go in there and really put everything on the line and go for it, and we’re capable of it.”
Fresno State will wrap up its regular season on Friday at San Jose State needing a win and a little bit of help from some other teams in order to reach the six-team Mountain West Championships that begin Nov. 3 in San Diego.