'Dogs to face toughest opponent yet

By Maggie Thach

The Collegian

The Bulldogs’ two upcoming away games will probably be the most important road trip of the season.

Tonight, the Bulldogs (3-6-1) will face a nationally ranked top-ten powerhouse program in Santa Clara (9-2-1) and then open conference play against Nevada (5-4-1) in Reno two days later.

“They’re both important games,” said head coach Steve Springthorpe. “But they’re important in different ways.”

A win against Santa Clara would prove the legitimacy of the team and give them good preparation for the WAC opener. But first the team must work on finishing their opportunities.

“We’re working on goal-scoring,” Springthorpe said. “ They’ll have a potent attack but we’ll see where we stack up. If we play well against them, that will give us confidence for Nevada.”

Saturday will be a travel day and Fresno State will end its road trip with Nevada. The Wolfpack has improved from their 2-15-1 record last year and going into this weekend’s match 5-4-1. The Wolfpack went winless in the WAC last season and the Bulldogs hope to keep their conference losing streak in tact.

“Nevada is an attack-oriented team,” Springthorpe said. “They’ve got great players but we’re taking the right steps. I think we’re ready for these games.”

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