Men's soccer goes to Norte Dame Tourney

By John McHugh

The Fresno State men’s soccer team is on the road to compete in the Notre Dame's Berticelli Memorial Tour-nament this weekend.

Fresno State lost its first two games of the regular season and is looking to start winning, but they have a tough task as they will play two nationally-ranked teams.

The Bulldogs face No. 16 Notre Dame today at 5:30 p.m. and No. 14 Indiana Sunday at 9 a.m.

The Bulldogs haven’t scored in their first two games. This is something Chesler said would change.

“ You just don’t know when you’re going to break through and start scoring goals,” Chesler said. “We’re going to score, it’s just a matter of when.”

The Berticelli Tournament should be a good test for the Bulldogs and gives them the opportunity to play teams comparable to those in the Pac-10.

“ They’ll be tough, but they really aren’t any tougher than the teams we’ll be playing in the conference,” Chesler said. “It’s nothing we’re overwhelmed by, but we know we’re going to have to play well.”

Chesler said he is optimistic about his team’s chances against the ranked opponents in this weekend’s tournament being held at Notre Dame.

“ (Notre Dame is) very organized and hard to break down. A solid team with no exceptional individuals, kind of like us,” Chesler said

Indiana poses a different challenge, Chesler said.

“ (Indiana) has some very special players, a lot of internationals, so it’s going to be a very different game,” Chesler said.

One positive from the beginning of the regular season is the team’s continued strong defense. Goalkeeper Eric Kronberg has a 1.00 goals against average, which is better than last season’s 1.39 goals against average. This has forced the team to sharpen up its attacking skills.

“ We’ve spent the week trying to build confidence,” Chesler said. “We worked on finishing this week...simple things like finding the back of the net. To me, this is the only way you overcome the drop we’re having now. You’ve got to be confident and don’t build the pressure on yourself.”

Despite losing the first two games, Fresno State’s squad is in good spirits as they head on the road.

“ I think the morale’s good,” Chesler said. “In one sense, I worry about if they care enough because they don’t take it hard enough. On the other hand, they’re not defeatists and they haven’t put their heads down.”