As a defender, Bailee Kern said she knows there won’t be too many opportunities for her to score. So when the sophomore got the chance to be involved in an offensive attack, she took advantage of it.

It ended up paying off. Kern recorded a brace in Fresno State’s (2-0) 3-2 victory over UNLV (1-1-1) on Friday afternoon, helping the Bulldogs improve to a 2-0 start.

“It feels awesome,” Kern said. “It’s something we’ve been working on in practice and I’m just happy I can represent my backline.”

Both of Kern’s first half goals were set up by corner kicks taken by Fresno State’s Shantay Tamez. Fresno State head coach Brian Zwaschka said that while the team’s set pieces are always designed to have a specific end result, sometimes players like Kern are at the right place at the right time to finish the job.

“It was a little bit fortuitous if I’m being honest,” Zwaschka said. “The reality of those set pieces is that no matter how you script it, there is still probably going to be a certain level of chaos. We’re really happy for her [Kern] because it doesn’t happen too often.

Kern’s first goal came in the 16th minute. Tamez sailed a corner kick through a traffic of defenders, and Kern was able to make contact with the ball, sending it to the back of the net to give the Bulldogs the 1-0 lead.

But their lead was short lived. Six minutes later, the Bulldogs had another corner kick. Instead of finding the net, UNLV gained possession of the ball. 

The Rebels moved the ball up the field, going coast-to-coast. When UNLV reached Fresno State’s defending half, UNLV’s Alysa Caso dropped off the ball to teammate Nailah Harpring. Harpring fired a shot out of the reach of Fresno State goalkeeper Valentina Vivas to tie up the game in the 22nd minute.

But it didn’t take the Bulldogs too long to regain the lead. With another corner kick opportunity, Tamez’s pass ended up in Kern’s possession again. The ball ricocheted off a couple players in the box. That’s when Kern was able to find the rebound and shoot the ball to make it 2-1.

Fresno State kept the 2-1 lead into halftime. Two minutes into the second half, Fresno State’s Robyn McCarthy sent a cross into UNLV’s box, where the ball found freshman Katie Dohnel. Dohnel headed the ball, and it landed at the feet of fellow freshman Kassandra Ceja, who tapped it in to make 3-1 Fresno State.

Coming into the season, Zwaschka said he was confident in younger players like Dohnel and Ceja to step up. Both of them averaged 69 minutes of playing time in Friday afternoon’s win.

“We definitely like the idea that any freshman can come in and contribute,” Zwaschka said. “We think that they’re really good players that can be  relied upon and they have a certain maturity about them. We’re glad to see some of their talent shine through and come to fruition for the team.”

Compared to last season, the Bulldogs were in good shape being up 3-1. In 2019, Fresno State only scored three or more goals once all year. After beating San Jose State 3-1 in the team’s season opener, the Bulldogs have already doubled that count.

“We’re thrilled to see more goals coming, especially in what ended up being such a close game,” Zwaschka said. “That was the difference but we’ve been working on some things and I feel like we have some personnel that’s capable of executing at this level.” 

This allowed the Bulldogs to play more relaxed and give more players the opportunity to see the field. Fresno State subbed in five new players onto the pitch. 

Everything was going smooth until the 82nd minute. UNLV cut its deficit when Marcella Brooks headed a corner kick just out of the reach of Fresno State goalkeeper Briana O’Dell. Harpring assisted on the play.  

With eight minutes left and a one-goal lead, Zwaschka decided to put his veteran players back in to finish the game.

With two minutes left in the game, UNLV was aggressively crashing Fresno State’s net. UNLV’s Samantha Bailley decided to try her luck from outside the box. She rifled a shot that had a lot of movement and seemed to be the equalizer late in the game, but O’Dell made a diving save and held on to the ball. 

Fresno State went on to win the game 3-2.

The Bulldogs are back in action on Sunday, March 12, at 11 a.m. against San Diego State.