Box Score
(San Francisco) - The University of San Francisco women's soccer team dropped a 3-0 decision to Fresno State Friday evening in their first road match of the 2011 season. The Dons held the Bulldogs close in the opening half, but fell victim to three goals within a seven-minute span in the second stanza.
With the loss, San Francisco falls to 0-2-0 on the season, while Fresno State improved to 2-1-0 with the victory. The Dons will go in search of their first victory Sunday as they host George Washington at Neogesco Stadium.
"We played well in the first half," said head coach Mark Carr. "Could have had a few goals again. We are still trying to put a complete game together, but when we do, I will be very excited for this team. Credit to Fresno in the second half, they piled the pressure on and we defended too deep and they eventually got the breakthrough. I know we are down right now, but we will dust ourselves down and get back to work on Sunday"
San Francisco held the offensive edge in the opening 45 minutes. USF held Fresno State to just three shots, all on goal. The Dons fired five shots in the first half, but were unable to carry the momentum in the closing half.
Just within the 61st minute mark, Fresno State unloaded, scoring three goals within seven minutes. The Bulldogs' Callie Hancock opened the rally at 61:27, before Jaycee Bigham tallied the second goal at 64:28. Morgan Castain capped scoring at 68:25 with Fresno State's third tally.
In the second half, San Francisco was unable to unleash a shot, while Fresno State tallied eight to take the 11-5 advantage for the evening.
The Dons fielded a young team for the second straight match. USF started four newcomers – Gabby Guaiumi, Mackenzie Krieser, Jaciara Mello and Abigail Phillips – while six freshmen saw time as a reserve. Coming off the bench for the Green and Gold were Celia Pellegrini, Lauren AbuAli, Tori Uhl, Halle Bissin, Liana Coppola and Ali Yule.
"Fresno is a little further a long than us with their game fitness," said Carr. "They have already played four games to our two. We need to get better and quickly. I have confidence in our group that we will turn things around."
San Francisco returns to the Hilltop Sunday when it hosts George Washington at 1 p.m. Tickets for the match can be purchased by visiting www.USFDons.com/tickets.
