Being shorthanded isn't a problem as No. 23 Bulldogs down Hornets
Joseph Hollak / The Collegian
Fresno State junior Chelsea Davis dribbles the ball by a Sacramento State defender in the Bulldogs’ 2-0 victory over the Hornets. |
By Alan Ouellette
The Collegian
The Fresno State soccer team continued its non-conference dominance yesterday with a 2-0 win over Sacramento State.
The Bulldogs, now 6-1-1 and off to their best start in school history, faced an aggressive Hornet team who, like Fresno State, are making school history for their auspicious 5-2-0 start coming into Sunday’s game.
After an evenly matched first half, the Bulldogs were stung early as junior defender Andrea Alires was red-carded in the 49th minute, causing the Bulldogs to play the rest of the game with 10 players.
Despite the disadvantage, the Bulldogs rebounded strongly, tightening down on defense and controlling the pace of the game after Sacramento State’s free kick hit the wall and was cleared by a stout Bulldog defense.
Senior goalkeeper Angie Larsen, posting her seventh shutout of the season after stopping a penalty kick in the second half, said the team needed to rise to the task of losing a veteran defender.
“We definitely had to step it up. My defense stepped up really well … we stuck it out.”
Head coach Steve Springthorpe, acknowledging the difficulty of playing a player down, said it’s a challenge, but, at times, a necessary one.
“When you’re playing a man down you have no choice,” Springthorpe noted. “You have to rally around leadership and we showed a lot of resolve. It’s not every day you can come back and score two goals.”
The first Bulldogs goal came in the 49th minute off of a 25-foot shot by senior midfielder Erika Sugano.
After the goal, the Bulldogs changed formations, dropping a player to defense to help protect the goal and their lead.
Despite settling into their characteristically defensive style of play, senior Nicole Gutierrez scored on a deflected shot on goal in the 71st minute.
Fresno State will now turn their attention to Tuesday’s game against the University of the Pacific (5-1-1), who lost to No. 19 Brigham Young University yesterday.
The Bulldogs defeated BYU 1-0 earlier this season in Provo, Utah, but Springthorpe knows that Fresno State will be in for a challenge against the Tigers tomorrow.
“Pacific’s a great team. They’ve had some great results. Last year we lost, but won the year before,” he said.
“We’ll come out and play hard and see what happens,” Springthorpe said. “It’s what we’ve been doing all season long.”
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