Nov. 6, 2003

Box Score

DALLAS- Fresno State struggled to generate much on offense and was held in check by Rice's defense, as the Owls blanked the Bulldogs 3-0 in the opening round of the 2003 WAC Women's Soccer Tournament on Thursday night.

The Bulldogs close out the season at 7-9-2 overall and 4-4-0 in the WAC. Rice improves to 10-7-1 overall and faces the winner of Boise State/UTEP on Friday afternoon in the semifinals.

The Owls controlled possession throughout the first half, outshooting the Bulldogs by a 7-2 count. Fresno State struggled to get much of anything going offensively as sophomore Katri Nokso-Koivisto (Kokkola, Finland) and freshman Erika Sugano (Yokahama, Japan) recorded the team's only shots in the first 45 minutes. Nokso-Koivisto led the Bulldogs with three shots in the game.

Rice took an early 1-0 lead in the contest when Becky MacAllister was able to slip past the defense and score the game's first goal at the 8:48 mark off a pass from Ashley Anderson.

The Owls continued to apply pressure on offense and eventually broke through with another goal at the 20:40 mark. Erin Droeger was the recipient this time around, scoring unassisted after she curled in a shot following a free kick.

Rice added another score late in the second period to extend the advantage to 3-0, courtesy of a header from Sarah Yoder. She was assisted on the play by Angela Furin and Laura Barber. Fresno State was outshot 15-5 for the contest and Rice held a 6-3 edge in shots on goal.

Bulldog netminder Jeannette Paine (Kelowna, British Columbia) registered three saves, as did Rice keeper Lauren Shockley.

			1	2	F
Fresno State (No. 6)	0	0	0
Rice (No. 3)		2	1	3

Scoring Summary: RICE- MacAllister (Anderson) 8:48, RICE- Droeger (unassisted) 20:40, RICE- Yoder (Furin, Barber) 73:24.
Shots: Rice 15, Fresno State 5.
Saves: Fresno State 3, Rice 3.
Fouls: Fresno State 9, Rice 9.
Attendance: N/A.
Records: Fresno State (7-9-2, 4-4-0 WAC), Rice (10-7-1, 6-2-0 WAC).