FRESNO, Calif. ---The Fresno State soccer team fought tough for a 2-1 win in the scorching Valley heat over Cal Poly Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs have one non-conference game remaining before opening up Mountain West play next Sunday against Air Force at 1 p.m. in Bulldog Stadium.

“Now is the time that we have regrouped and we need to respond,” said head coach Brian Zwaschka. “I think everybody has just been slowly buying into the idea that it’s the little things that are going to make the biggest differences and the more we’ve been putting it together the more we can manage these tough games. I’m glad to see us actually get some results because we’ve been playing quite well.”

In the first half, the Mustangs were first to strike. The Bulldogs were called for a hand ball inside of the box in the 13th minute, which set up a penalty kick for Cal Poly’s Elise Krieghoff, who was able to convert and score her third goal of the year.

Fresno State bounced back with a beautiful goal in the 22^nd minute, when senior Vanessa Gonzales received the ball near midfield a weaved her way through defenders to the left side before finding Morgan Castain in front of the goal and struck the ball into the upper right hand corner.

“The first goal was one of the best team goals that I’ve seen since I’ve been coaching here,” said Zwaschka. “The idea that we started all the way at the back and worked it through several players and then to finish it off in style, I was very impressed.” 

Play continued back and forth between the two squads as a full team effort was necessary by both squads in the 90+ degree heat.

“We knew that to play the way we wanted to play we were going to have to use a lot of players and we did,” said Zwaschka. “I am really proud of the way the bench supported the starting lineup and the starting lineup supported the bench so that we could manage the heat and manage the whole game.”

The ’Dogs didn’t wait long after halftime to take control of the game. Megan Mossman found Callie Hancock sprinting in front of the goal, who put the ball past the keeper in the right corner just 43 seconds into the half.

“In the second half, we knew that if we jumped out early and got behind them that we could probably pick off a lead,” said Zwaschka on the second goal.

Despite having the lead, the ’Dogs didn’t let up on the pressure. Fresno State out shot Cal Poly nine to six in the second half. The win was a full team effort with ten different Bulldogs attempting shots and only four players playing the entire 90 minutes.

Sophomore goalkeeper Katie DeVault had five saves on the afternoon including a critical diving stop halfway through the second half.

The ’Dogs will hit the road at the end of this week, when the team takes on Santa Clara on Thursday at 7 p.m. Fresno State will then open up the inaugural season in the Mountain West in its first conference matchup against Air Force in Bulldog Stadium at 1 p.m.

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