Women's soccer in WAC tourney

By Kim Anderson

The Fresno State women’s soccer team qualified for the WAC tournament Thursday night in a 4-0 victory over Tulsa at Bulldog Stadium.

Within the first 10 minutes of the match, sophomore forward Katri Nokso-Koivisto put the Bulldogs on the board when she blasted a shot into the net off a pass from sophomore forward Kortney Lewis.

The Bulldogs followed with a series of passes and crosses to penetrate the net. Freshman defender/midfielder Erika Sugano sent a long pass to Lewis, which was picked up by the Golden Hurricane goalie.

A corner kick was awarded to the Bulldogs when an intended cross hit the back of a Tulsa defender, giving the Bulldogs one of their two corners in the first half.

Senior midfielder Erin Sayegusa put the ball into the net with about six minutes remaining in the half, when she received a pass from junior forward Lisa Esteves and went one-on-one with the goaltender to put the Bulldogs up 2-0.

To start off the second half, Nokso-Koivisto took a ground shot, which was picked up by the Golden Hurricane goaltender.

Nokso-Koivisto, who earned six shots on the night, then returned to take a shot that went just wide of the net.

“ This win was important for us to seed in the WAC tournament,” Nokso-Koivisto said. “The loss to Hawaii really brought our confidence back.”

The third goal came off the head of sophomore midfielder Koleen Anderson when she received the ball from the right side and headed it in past the keeper.

Up by three, the Bulldog offense did not fail to penetrate the Golden Hurricane defense and took 12 shots in the second half, earning a total of 20 shots.

Sophomore midfielder Eriko Yoshiki took a shot with about 30 minutes remaining, which was tipped over the goal giving the Bulldogs a corner kick. Yoshiki then sent a pass to Nokso-Koivisto who took a shot that barely missed the net, hitting the cross bar.

The final Bulldog goal was scored off a rebound and came off the foot of Yoshiki.

Freshman goalkeeper Jeannette Paine played 90 minutes, earning five saves.

This win qualifies the Bulldogs for a seed in the WAC tournament. Head coach Stacy Welp said she feels this team is good enough to win it and hopes to face the more challenging teams in the third round of the tournament.

The Bulldogs will host the final game of their regular season against Rice on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Bulldog Stadium.