1997_10 The Daily Collegian October 1997

              THE DAILY
COLLEGIAN
Thursday, October 2,1997
Sports
Telephone: (209) 278-5733
COMER
Bulldogs return home
After playing their last four
matches on the road, the Bull
dogs finally get to play on their
home turf against the University
of San Francisco at 2 p.m. Sun¬
day.
Big crowd expected
Sunday
A sunny October afternoon, a
long-time rivalry and Clovis Jun¬
ior League Soccer Day are all in¬
gredients for a large crowd at
Sunday's match against San
Francisco. At list year's Clovis
Junior League Soccer Day, a
crowd of 5.541 came to watch
the Bulldogs shutout Portland. 1-
0. In 1987, Fresno^tate drew an
NCAA record crowd of 12,224
for its match against USF
'Dogs to open WAC M
Tblsa next week
Fresno State plays its first
Western Athletic Conference
match of the 1997 season next
week at the University of Tulsa.
Currently, the Golden Hurricanes
are in third place with a 6-2
(.750) overall record, behind un¬
defeated Air Force (7-0) and
SMU (6-1). The 'Dogs are in
sixth place with their 5-4-1 (.550)
record.
'Dogs end up winning
three on road trip
Fresno Stale won three of four
matches away from Bulldog Sta¬
dium during the past two weeks.
Two weeks ago, the 'Dogs de¬
feated Michigan State and Ken¬
tucky to win the UNLV Snick-
ers/FJLA Rebel Classjc in Las
Vegas. Last week, the Dogs
made it three in a row with a 4-0
shutout win over UC Santa Bar¬
bara, but, two days later, saw
their win streak come to an end
with a 2-0 loss to UCLA.
*Dogs continue
scoring surge
With the four goals they
scored against UC Santa Barbara
on Friday, the Bulldogs have tal¬
lied 10 goals in their last four
matches. Fresno State has scored
20 goals in its 10 matches in
1997.
—Sports Information
Bulldogs shut out Cal-State Fullerton
By Luis Hernandez
The Daily Collegian —.	
It is said that speed kills. And
Fresno State forward Jill Pearson
gave the Cal-State Fullerton
women's soccer team a demonstra¬
tion why at Bulldog Stadium
Wednesday night.
Pearson scored one goal and w as
fouled inside the Titan's box for a
penalty kick as the Bulldogs got a
2-0 win over the Titans.
"She is a great striker. She is fast
and she can dribble around defend¬
ers." Fresno State head coach Pe¬
ter Rcynaud said of Pearson.
Pearson, using her speed time
and time again, was able to get past
defenders and put Cal-State Fuller-
ton goalkeeper Maria Nelson in
dangerous situations.
Fresno State scored its second
goal of the match at the 51st minute
of play when Christina Bell con¬
verted a penalty kick. She calmly
beat Nelson with a low-driven shot.
The game in the second half was
evenly matched, with both teams
fighting in the middle of the field
trying to establish control.
It was Fresno State who got the
advantage, however, with the con¬
version of the penalty shot.
The first half ended with the
score 1-0 in favor of Fresno State.
The Titans gained an advantage
in the field and pushed the Bulldogs
deep into their own side of the field.
It was the Fresno State defense
who controlled the last fourth of the
field. They contained the Cal-State
Fullerton offense, and the Titans
were left to try long-range shots.
"Our defense has been playing
exceptional lately," Rcynaud said.
The defensive effort was led by
goalkeeper Jennifer Johnstone, who
had eight saves and got credit for
the shut out win.
"She is a wonderful player."
Rcynaud said of Johnstone. "She is
obviously one of our best players."
This was Johnstone's first shut¬
out since Sept. 23. when she
blanked Cal-State Sacramento.
"It's my goal to get a shutout
every game." she said. "I am happy
to get one. It's kind of nice."
Fullerton ended up taking 15
shots, most of them from outside
Johnstone's box.
"You have to be on your toes,"
Ryan Weber - 77w Daily Collegian
Fresno State goalkeeper Jennifer Johnstone comes out of her line
and picks up the ball as Cal-State Fullerton's Kerry Murray and
two Fresno State defenders look on.     * .
she said of how to handle those long
shots. "You have to be ready to
come out [off the goal line)."
Pearson opened.the scoring at
the seventh minute of action. She
received a long pass from Cheryl
Gano and Pearson outran two de¬
fenders and beat Nelson as she
came out to challenge Pearson's
shot.
Cal-State Fullerton continued to
put pressure on Fresno State, but it
was the Bulldogs who created
chances to increase their lead.
Pearson. Nicholc Burnsidc and
Jennifer Reolt were able to create
good scoring opportunities for
Fifcsno State.
Bennett takes on volleyball, Jordan style
By John Sanders
The Daily Collegian
Fresno State volleyball player
Shanus Bennett's favorite athlete
is Michael Jordan.
Seems logical, since the com¬
parisons are strikingly similar.
Both Bennett and Jordan are
blessed with remarkable jumping
ability, both work hard giving
110% each day, and both are al¬
ways working to improve.
Maybe that's why Bennett, a
junior, has already earned two All-
Tournament honors this season
(Power Bar Invitational and
Mikasa Invite), including the pres¬
tigious MVP at the Power Bar
Tournament, a tournament that
Fresno State had a five-game vic¬
tory over St. John's.
Having your mother coach
game since I was younger, but you
can't really play until you reach the
seventh grade. My mom has taught
me to be coachable and to be\>pen-
minded to what people are trying
to teach you."
Bennett has already posted ca¬
reer-highs in kills in a match (30
vs. University of San Diego), total
blocks in a match (5 vs. St. John's),
and service aces in a match (6 vs.
St. John's). Bennett is already on
pace to surpass her career total in
kills (275 her freshman and sopho¬
more years combined) this season
alone. She most likely will take
over eighth or ninth place in Fresno
State history for kills in a season.
This season Bennett has been a
major factor for the success of the
Bulldogs, who are a deceiving 0-2
in the WAC and 10-6 overall.
She ranks first on the team in
service aces (23), second on the
team in total kills and digs (232 and
166 respectively), and she is third
in total blocks (30).
"My mom always told me to
play tall," she said. "You don't have
to be tall to be good. You just have
to play like a tall girl.'
Duly noted.
Bennett is only 5-9. but ask op¬
posing teams if she plays tall. The
general consensus would probably
be, "yes."
Her athletic ability allows her
to possess an astounding 29 inch
vertical leap, which gives her the
ability to rise over opponents to
collect a kill.
"[Shanus] was a really mature
person when she entered here as a
freshman, so that really helped her
progress," said assistant coach
Laurie Hay ward. "The three years
that she has been here she has
made some huge improvements,
and part of the reason for that is
because she comes to practice ev¬
eryday and gives I \0% no matter
what she is doing."
Having your mother coach      blocks in a match (5 vs. St. John's),    .    Duly noted.
'Dogs ready to open conference play on ESPN
By David Childers pearance barring any sort of good    games by a total of five points to     Riverside. McBride, at the time.
The Dailv Colleeian fortune that could t»et them intn the      Oreann and Ravlnr "I u/i«h that u/e       u/a« an accictant rnarh   Nnw voarc
By David Childers
The Daily Collegian
The sign hovering above prac¬
tice from the video tower said a lot:
"1-0. That's all that matters. Beat
Utah. WAC Football."
But it didn't say it all.
"This team is hungry, real hun¬
gry." said tailback Michael Pittman.
"We easily could be 3-1 right now,
but we're not. We're 1-3. So we are
hungry to get that first win in con¬
ference."
The Utcs may already be 2-0 in
conference play, but Thursday's
clash at Bulldog Stadium is a clean
slate for Fresno State (1-3 overall,
0-0 WAC) — and a national one at
that.
The game will be broadcast from
coast to coast on ESPN, the Bull¬
dogs' only national television ap¬
pearance barring any sort of good
fortune that could get them into the
bowl picture. The 5 p.m. start time
means that even the East Coast will
get the game in prime time.
While Fresno State head coach
Pat Hill said that he wasn't worried
about playing on ESPN, his play¬
ers obviously cannot overlook the
magnitude of the national television
coverage.
"Yeah, I can't wait," said
Pittman. "We are going to be ready
to play, that's for sure/'...
Hill has set his priorities on re¬
taining the top talent in the area.
But, with plenty of scholarships to
give out for next year, Hill certainly
wouldn't mind an upset of the Utes
in front of the entire country.
"I think we are in good shape,"
said Hill, whose team lost two
games by a total of five points to
Oregon and Baylor. "I wish that we
had a little more success in the win
column, but we feel confident that
we can turn that around [Thursday]
against Utah."
There is so much significance to
the Utah game. It's Hill's first con¬
ference game in his rookie season.
It's an unusual Thursday night
game, broadcast across the nation
on ESPN. And, of course, there are
the ties to Utah coach Ron
McBride.
Bulldogs special teams coach
John Baxter is McBride's son-in-
law, which makes for an interest¬
ing family feud. And, in practical
matters, McBride and Hill are a lot
like family as well.
They met when Hill was an 18-
year-old offensive lineman at UC
Riverside. McBride, at the time,
was an assistant coach. Now years
later, their career paths intersect at
the next level.
"He convinced me that football
was my passion," said Hill of
McBride. "Ron and I have been
good friends for a long time. He has
done a great job there. He is a great
football coach."
McBride was ve#y complimen¬
tary of Hill as well, after Hill was
introduced as the new head coach
in December.
"He'll certainly be a force in this
league," said McBride. "As a
player, he was a guy who achieved
every day on the field. As a coach,
he's the same way."