Eight Fresno State women’s soccer players were honored in the Oct. 20 victory, as the Bulldogs hosted the University of Nevada Las Vegas Rebels in the last home game of the regular season.
The seniors honored before the game included goalie Alex Best, defender Danielle Pacheo, forward Kasidee Wiley, middle forward Tori Nicolo, middle forward Melissa Ellis, defender Megan Amick, middle forward Sydni Lunt and forward Racine Babb.
The Bulldogs extended their winning streak to three games with the 2-1 victory over the Rebels. They will travel to San Diego State, University of New Mexico and San Jose State to close out the regular season. Fresno State now sits in third place in the Mountain West Conference standings behind Boise State in first and San Diego State in second.
Fresno State came out of the gates fast in the first half, as it outshot the Rebels 12-2. Rebels goalie Emberly Sevilla picked up three of her five saves in the first half. The Bulldogs also ended the first half with five corner kicks to the Rebels one corner kick.
One of the many corner kicks would be able to find the back net, as Lunt put up the first goal of the game in the first half. Lunt’s opening goal was her third goal of the season; she was assisted by midfielder Lorena Montanes corner.
The Bulldogs entered the second half with the lead but once the second half commenced, the Rebels managed to create more opportunities for themselves.
The Rebels found their offense with the majority of their shots taken, they had five shots on goal, in the second half. The Bulldogs would have just one shot more than the Rebels and still outshot the Rebels entirely, 18-7.
Fresno State’s two of its three saves occurred in the second half, while the Rebels picked up two saves as well.
With the Rebels being able to create more shot opportunities, they would manage to put a score on the board with a free kick into the box from middle forward Malika Markham. The Rebels’ only score of the game occured at the 52 minute. Forward Katie Ballou was credited with the assist.
However, just three minutes later, the Bulldogs answered the Rebels’ score with a second goal from Ellis. Ellis’s goal came off a rebound from Montanes’s shot on goal. Montanes was credited once again with an assist. Montanes walked away from the match with a total of two assists.
Head coach Brian Zwaschka said he was proud of his seniors and was glad to send them off the right way. Zwaschka also acknowledged that the Bulldogs have struggled on the road, yet he knows the best mentality is to just take each game one at a time.
“We already miss not being able to have another home game,” Zwaschka said. “The crowd has been great all year and the Red Wave has been huge for us.”