Fresno State fans and students showed up Friday night to honor seniors on the women’s Lacrosse team on senior night.
The crowd gathered before the game to recognize seniors Chyna Hill, Caroline Dineen-Carlson, Chelsea Hall, Kyleigh Westgarth and Alex White.
The pregame ceremony overshadowed the ‘Dogs 16-14 fall to the UC Berkeley Golden Bears in a tough, gut-wrenching loss.
“I’m really proud of the way our team played all season,” head coach Jessica Giglio said. “It’s really hard to finish with a loss like this when we were so close to making MPSF playoffs this season. We played with a lot of heart tonight, but sometimes games just don’t go your way.”
Giglio then turned her focus on the strides her group has made over the years.
“This program has come so far over the last four years that these seniors have been here, and this program has made huge strides forward this season,” Giglio said. “I’m really looking forward to next season to continue the growth of this program.”
The Cal Bears began the game on the offensive after multiple Bear attackers threatened the ’Dogs goal. The Bears were able to score first on a shot fired from five yards out.
After another Cal goal, Dineen-Carlson pushed the ‘Dogs back into the game with an accurate finish in the top left corner after winning a penalty.
Sarah Bloise leveled the score for the Bulldogs when she ducked under her defender to give herself an open shot on goal. She opened up and sent the ball into the back of the net before the Bear goalie could attempt to save it.
Cal scored two more goals, and Dineen-Carlson again answered back with her second goal of the game.
The momentum would be short lived after the Bears scored again to make it 5-3.
The Bulldogs and Bears traded goals throughout the rest of the first half, with Cal holding a 9-7 lead at the end of the half.
The second half opened with a flurry of goals from both sides, giving Cal a 13-9 lead 10 minutes into the half.
Down four goals, Fresno State made a run which nearly ended their season on a high note. The Bulldogs scored five goals in a row, including two by Dineen-Carlson.
In the end, the Bears went on a 3-0 run to win the game 16-14, marking an end to the season.
Although the Bulldogs lost, they finished the season with a 9-7 record, the first winning season in program history.