’Dogs Play to Draw Versus Defending MW Champ
October 12, 2012
FRESNO, Calif.---The Fresno State soccer team played to a 1-1 draw Friday night under the lights against the reigning Mountain West champion New Mexico Lobos. With the tie the Bulldogs remain undefeated in the Mountain West with a 2-0-1 conference record.
“The effort was tremendous,” said head coach Brian Zwaschka. “The players did all of the things that we asked them to do. New Mexico is a resilient team. We created the chances that we wanted to and put the pressure on them.”
The first half went back and forth between teams with the ’Dogs having the edge in possession. Fresno State recorded 10 shots in the first half compared to New Mexico’s six. Neither team was able to break through in the first 45 minutes and the score remained knotted at 0-0 at halftime.
Coming out of the half, the ’Dogs jumped on the scoreboard first when junior Rachael Armstrong put the ball in the back of the net in the 53rd minute off a rebound off the Lobo keeper for her first career goal.
The ’Dogs remained in the lead for most of the second half until New Mexico’s Natalie Jenks scored the equalizer in the 75th minute for her third goal of the season.
The teams forced overtime with neither team able to find the winning goal in two ten minute overtime periods. The ’Dogs controlled the ball for the majority of both overtimes with positive looks at goal scoring opportunities.
“I am proud of the shared responsibility on both sides of the ball,” Zwaschka said. “Defensively we tried to regain possession as quickly as we could. It takes a whole team to be able to do that and in terms of transitioning into attack the movement and the shared responsibility of the players helped us create so many chances. “
The ’Dogs return to Bulldog Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. when they face in-state and Mountain West rival No. 7/13 San Diego State.
“We know San Diego state is a good team and they are having a good season,” said Zwaschka. “Anytime a team comes in here we know that we are going to challenge and push them. We aren’t going to give anything away to anybody.”
