Rocky Mountain Battle Ahead for Bulldogs

October 10, 2011

Rebounding from a 4-1 loss to now No. 2 UCLA, the Fresno State women's soccer team continues its four-game road trip in Colorado. The Bulldogs will face Colorado College (Sept. 16) and Air Force (Sept. 18) in a battle of the Sierras vs. the Rocky Mountains. The last time the Bulldogs left the state for a pair of matches they finished 1-1.

About the Tigers (1-4-1)
Head Coach Geoff Bennett is in the middle of his seventh year with Colorado College. In six seasons with the Tigers, he has amassed a 74-45-17 record. The key player to watch is Kaeli Vandersluis. The freshman has two goals and an assist this season to lead the team with five points.

About the Falcons (4-3-0)
Head Coach Larry Friend is in his second year with the Air Force Academy. He has led the Falcons to an 11-24-3 record during his tenure. The key player to watch is McKenna Fox. The freshman has scored four goals this season to lead the team and also has two assists.

Eye of the Tiger
This is the first meeting between the Bulldogs and Colorado College. Fresno State is 3-1-1 when facing opponents from Conference USA. Last year, the Bulldogs faced two C-USA opponents. They defeated UTEP, 2-1, (Aug. 27) on the road in the regular season, but fell to UCF in the first round of the NCAA tournament 2-1 on Nov. 11.

The Red, White and Blue
Fresno State leads the series 1-0 against the Falcons. It has been 15 years since the Bulldogs took the match over Air Force, 3-2, at a neutral site. Overall, Fresno State is 6-3-0 against Mountain West Conference opponents. The last match against a MWC team was Aug. 21, 2009. Bulldogs lost on the road (1-0) to San Diego State.

Among the Best in the West
The Fresno State women's soccer team has been ranked as high as ninth in the west region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America this season.

Facing the Crème de la Crop
The Bulldogs have already faced off against three nationally ranked teams this year with at least one more remaining. Against top teams in the country, the 'Dogs have a 0-2-1 record. They will face No. 13 Pepperdine next at home on Sept. 25.

Twilight Zone
Sophmore Morgan Castain transferred to Fresno State this year from Washington State, getting closer to home, but leaving behind her identical twin sister Micaela, a forward for the Cougars. Over the course the break out weekend that earned Castain WAC Offensive Player of the Week honors (Sept. 5), Micaela had an amazing weekend as well. Despite being nearly 1,000 miles apart, the pair swapped goals against their respective opponents. Check out the goal summary for the sisters below:

Date   Time in Game     Student-Athlete   Opponent
Sept. 2    17:20 Micaela Wyoming
  41:13 Morgan UC Santa Barbara
  50:01 Micaela Wyoming
  77:45 Morgan UC Santa Barbara
Sept. 4 5:43 Micaela Weber State
  15:23 Morgan Sacramento State

Leaders of the Pack
At the end of week one, the Fresno State women's soccer team led the Western Athletic Conference in five categories: points (10.5), goals (6), goals per game (3.00), assists (9) and assists per game (4.50). The Bulldogs currently lead the WAC in goals per game (2.00), assists (14) and assists per game (2.29) while committing the lowest number of fouls (47). Fresno State holds the game-high in team assists for 2011 with six (Aug. 21 vs UTSA).

"We Are Your Team!" Look out for the Bulldogs big promotion during their next home match against No. 9 Pepperdine on Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. Every fan in attendance will receive a prize. You can always stay connected with Fresno State Athletics on Facebook (fresnostateathletics) and Twitter (@FSAthletics).

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