Fresno State

Prepping for year two
The Bulldog women's lacrosse team is in the middle of preparations for the upcoming 2010 season. They are currently going through fall workouts and with 14 freshmen and a solid core of returning players the excitement level is high for the upcoming year. Recently the team scrimmaged up at Cal and coach Sue Behme came away pleased with what she saw from her team on the field. The Bulldogs opened the day play Stanford and then played Cal, Saint Mary's and UC Davis. All four teams are in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

"This was a great experience for our team. It is great to be able to play fall ball scrimmages this year and move forward in our program. Today was the beginning of great things for Bulldog Lacrosse. We have a long way to go, but our coaching staff and team have high expectations and have set the bar high for us to compete at an extremely high level this year. As the day went on we did a much better job controlling the draw and were able to transition the ball more effectively. We scored some great goals and made some great defensive plays. I think today was a great learning experience and the team gained valuable experience, especially our 14 freshman that have never played in a series of collegiate scrimmages until today. Our staff is proud of the team and what we are building."

Stay tuned to gobulldogs.com for more information on how the team is progressing during the fall.

Steve Schaack
Fresno State Media Relations
sschaack@csufresno.edu
Apr 2, 2009, 3:36 p.m.

Finally Back in Bulldog Stadium
After two months of living in a suitcase and in hotels, the Fresno State women's lacrosse team is making its much anticipated return to Bulldog Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m. when they play host to Saint Mary's of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Bulldogs are still looking for their first win but they are continuing to play extremely hard and make progress. In the most recent game, the team scored a season-high eight goals, with Heather Jack scoring five. Saturday, is Senior Day as Aja Scheuber, Andrea Alires, Chelsea Davis, Kristin Hoska, Stefani Jericoff, Lorileigh Chung and Molly Sovacool will be honored before the start of the game. It is a busy week around campus and after watching lacrosse play Saturday, fans can use their ticket stub and get into the baseball or softball games.

Steve Schaack
Fresno State Media Relations
sschaack@csufresno.edu
Feb. 25, 2009, 4:45 p.m.

Gearing Up For UC Davis
Coach Sue Behme is anxious to get her team back on the field after suffering a 20-1 loss to Canisius on Feb. 16. On Saturday, the Bulldogs return to the field when they play at Mountain Pacific Sports Federation member UC Davis at 1 p.m.

Since the loss, Behme has shuffled the lineup and moved players into different positions in hopes of getting more production out of her team.

"Having gone through three games I think we need to do that right now because they are continuing to grow," she said. "Everybody is going to see changes in where people are playing. Hopefully multiple things will come out of it."

The first thing Behme wants to see is her team putting the ball in the back of the net more. Fresno State managed only one goal against Stanford and Canisius. The last two areas of emphasis the Bulldog coach wants to see from her team is controlling draws and playing stronger defense where they are not allowing high percentage shots to be taken.

"We have very specific and measurable goals for every game," Behme said. "These goals are not based on winning and losing. The scores can be deceiving at times. When we played Cal and Stanford we saw big improvements in them raising their level of play. They attended to some of the details much better but we saw a dip in that against Canisius."

The Bulldogs don't return to Bulldog Stadium until April 4 when they play host to Saint Mary's at 1 p.m. Since the Feb. 1 home opener, against Cal, coach Behme has expressed her appreciation to the fans and students who came out to support her team.

Steve Schaack
Fresno State Media Relations
sschaack@csufresno.edu

Feb. 9, 2008
2:50 p.m. PT

Saturday was a historic day for the women's lacrosse program. It was a day when what showed up on the scoreboard didn't matter. The excitement at Bulldog Stadium was amazing. The players and coaches left the Bulldog Stadium amazed about the support they received. Below is a letter from coach Sue Behme to the fans.

"I would love to give a special thank you to all of the fans that came to support us.

Our fans were amazing and I want them to know how much that meant to me and our program. Their energy, enthusiasm, and willingness to cheer us on whenever we did something positive was so impressive. I hope everyone comes to the rest of our games forever. I would love to see 1,000-1,500 people come out to our next game. As Bulldog Lacrosse fans, they could become one of the elite Division I fan bases in all of Division I women's lacrosse! The fans started to pave that path yesterday...I bet if you looked at the highest west coast lacrosse fan attendance over the past several years, our fans already are close to beating those attendance records!   

By being a part of making history with us yesterday, our fans have the ability to now do that consistently here in Fresno, the Central Valley, in California, and on the west coast. If our fans can continue to do this the word will continue to spread across the country on a national level in the lacrosse world...it is unbelievable! 

On one DAY, on one Saturday afternoon in February 2009, at the first ever women's lacrosse game at Fresno State and in the Central Valley, our Bulldog fans propelled women's lacrosse onto another level. Just like our team...they can see how much one DAY can change so much."

Thank you,
Sue Behme

Steve Schaack
Fresno State Media Relations
sschaack@csufresno.edu

Oct. 2, 2008
9:27 a.m PT
It's time for another installment of Lacrosse 101. Below are the playing rules for the sport. The Bulldogs are currently practicing for the upcoming 2009 season with the players getting up for 6 a.m. practices four days a week.

Women's lacrosse is a non-contact game played by 12 players: a goalkeeper, five attackers and six defenders. The object of the game is to shoot the ball into the opponent's goal. The team scoring the most goals wins.

Women's lacrosse begins with a draw, which is taken by the center position. The ball is placed between two horizontally held crosses (sticks) at the center of the field. At the sound of the whistle, the ball is flung into the air as the crosses are pulled up and away. A draw is used to start each half and after each goal, and it takes place at the center of the field.

The collegiate game is 60 minutes long, each half being 30 minutes. The high school girl's game is 50 minutes long, each half being 25 minutes. In both collegiate and high school play, teams are allowed two timeouts per game (including overtime).

There are visual guidelines on the side of the field that are in place to provide a consistent indicator to the officials of what is considered the playing field. The minimum dimensions for a field is 120 yards by 70 yards. Additional markings on the field include a restraining line located 30 yards from each goal line, which creates an area where only a maximum of seven offensive players and eight defensive players (including the goalkeeper) are allowed; a 12-meter fan, which officials use to position players after fouls; and an arc in front of each goal, considered the critical scoring area, where defenders must be at least within a stick's-length of their attacker.

The boundaries are determined by the natural restrictions of the field. An area of 120 yards by 70 yards is desirable.

When a whistle blows, all players must stop in place. When a ball is ruled out of play, the player closest to the ball gets possession when play is resumed. Loss of possession may occur if a player deliberately runs or throws the ball out of play.

Rough checks, and contact to the body with the crosse or body, are not allowed.

Field players may pass, catch or run with the ball in their crosse. A player may gain possession of the ball by dislodging it from an opponent's crosse with a check. A check is a controlled tap with a crosse on an opponent's crosse in an attempt to knock the ball free. The player must be one step in front of her opponent in order to check. No player may reach across an opponent's body to check the handle of a crosse when she is even with or behind that opponent. A player may not protect the ball in her crosse by cradling so close to her body or face so as to make a legal, safe check impossible for the opponent.

All legal checks must be directed away from a seven-inch sphere or ""bubble"" around the head of the player. No player is allowed to touch the ball with her hands except the goalkeeper when she is within the goal circle. A change of possession may occur if a player gains a distinct advantage by playing the ball off her body.

Fouls are categorized as major or minor, and the penalty for fouls is a "free position." For major fouls, the offending player is placed four meters behind the player taking the free position. For a minor foul, the offending player is placed four meters off, in the direction from which she approached her opponent before committing the foul, and play is resumed. When a minor foul is committed in the critical scoring area, the player with the ball has an indirect free position, in which case the player must pass first.

A slow whistle occurs when the offense has entered the critical scoring area and the defense has committed a major foul. A flag is thrown but no whistle is sounded so that the offense has an opportunity to score a goal. A whistle is blown when a goal is scored or the scoring opportunity is over. An immediate whistle is blown when a major foul, obstruction or shooting space occurs, which jeopardizes the safety of a player.

Steve Schaack
Fresno State Media Relations
sschaack@csufresno.edu

Sept. 18, 2008
11:04 a.m PT

It is time for some education. With women's lacrosse starting in February here at Fresno State many people in the Valley, including myself, are quickly studying up on the rules of the game. With the help of USlacrosse.org I thought I would begin a series of blogs called Lacrosse 101.

Today we are going to start with the positions on the field.

WOMEN'S LACROSSE POSITIONS:

THE ATTACK:

First Home:
The first home's responsibility is to score. Located in front of the goal, the first home must continually cut toward the goal for a shot, or cut away from the goal to make room for another player. She should have excellent stick work.
Second Home:
The second home is considered the playmaker. She should be able to shoot well from every angle and distance from the goal.
Third Home:
The third home's responsibility is to transition the ball from defense to attack. She should be able to feed the ball to other players and fill in wing areas.
Attack Wings:
The wings are also responsible for transitioning the ball from defense to attack. Wings should have speed and endurance and be ready to receive the ball from the defense and run or pass the ball.

THE DEFENSE:

Point:
The point's responsibility is to mark first home. She should be able to stick check, body check and look to intercept passes.
Coverpoint:
The coverpoint's responsibility is to mark second home. She should be able to receive clears, run fast and have good footwork.
Third Man:
The third man's responsibility is to mark third home. She should be able to intercept passes, clear the ball, run fast and have good footwork.
Center:
The center's responsibility is to control the draw and play both defense and attack. She should have speed and endurance.
Defense Wings:
The wings are responsible for marking the attack wings and bringing the ball into the attack area. Wings should have speed and endurance.
Goalkeeper:
The goalkeeper's responsibility is to protect the goal. She should have good stick work, courage and confidence.