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'Dogs look to buck Broncos

Team draws Santa Clara, which won the teams’ first meeting, for first round of NCAA tourney

By Chhun Sun

The Collegian

Staying confident.

For this year’s Bulldogs, having confidence is the key to upsetting Santa Clara, a team that is ranked No. 5 in the nation and leads the series 3-0.

The last time the two teams met in October, the Broncos won in a 3-0 shutout.

But the Broncos will see a different Bulldog team today in the NCAA Tournament first round opener. The Bulldogs are on a hot streak, winning eight of their last nine matches.

That includes the three impressive wins over Utah State, Hawaii State and San Jose to capture the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship in Boise, Idaho, on Sunday, earning their second NCAA tourney appearance in school history.

But the Bulldogs (10-9-2, 4-2-1 WAC) are playing a team that is making its 17th consecutive NCAA tourney appearance and is seeded No. 2.

“This is a good team but they can be upset,” midfielder Koleen Anderson said about Santa Clara (14-4-2, 4-2-1 West Coast Conference). “Upsets happen all the time. We’ve been playing well together and I think we have a good chance.”

Anderson couldn’t be more right.

The senior and teammates managed to pull a 2-1 upset over No. 1 seed Hawaii in the WAC tournament semifinals before shutting out San Jose 1-0 to qualify as the No. 15 seed in the NCAA tourney.

The Bulldogs know how important it is to stop early scores from Santa Clara, which is led by Jordan Angeli (10 goals, 24 points, 72 shots) and Tina Estrada (8 goals, 19 points, 49 shots).

“We need to defend,” coach Steve Springthorpe said. “We need to limit them to six or seven shots, and we need to put away the opportunities we get.”

Even though Springthorpe said some of his players are both nervous and excited, he knows the pressure is not on the Bulldogs. It’s on Santa Clara, he said.

“Clearly, the pressure is on Santa Clara, the No. 2 seed. They’re expected to advance, and that makes us feel good. All we can do is play hard,” Springthorpe said.

The last time the Bulldogs played in the NCAA tourney was in 1999, when Fresno State won a program-best 14 matches and defeated three top-25 teams.

SMU defeated Fresno State 1-0 in double-overtime in the WAC Tournament title match but the Bulldogs earned an at-large selection to host a first-round match at Bulldog Stadium against Cal Poly. The Mustangs claimed a 2-1 victory.


	November 11, 2005 California State University, Fresno