10/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) -
UNLV women's soccer will face San Jose State and Fresno State on the road this weekend in Mountain West action. First up will be San Jose State on Friday afternoon at 12:00 pm and then Fresno State on Sunday at 1:00 pm.
Weekly Release
All About the Rebels
UNLV looks to start a winning streak in Mountain West action when they face San Jose State and Fresno State at home at Peter Johann Memorial Field on Friday and Sunday afternoon. The Rebels went 1-1 last weekend, losing to Wyoming 2-1 and defeating Colorado State 3-0. The Rebels led at halftime 1-0 against the Cowgirls, but Wyoming rallied and scored two goals in the second half. UNLV dominated Colorado State from start to finish and had 15 shot in each half. Senior forward Jodi Barber scored her team-leading sixth goal of the season to give Rebels the lead four minutes into the game. Sophomore forward Kaila Brinkman scored her first goal of the season, and redshirt-senior Denali Murnan also scored to add insurance goals. Three weekends in a row the Rebels have responded from loses on Friday night with wins on their own on Sunday afternoon. On Oct. 2, UNLV lost at San Diego State 3-0 and then defeated New Mexico on the road 3-1. On Oct. 9 UNLV lost at Boise State 4-0 and then beat Utah State 3-0 at home to begin a three game home stand.
Six different players have scored at least two goals this season (five players have scored one goal) in a balanced attack for UNLV with Barber leading the way. Barber has six goals and 14 points and started in 10 straight games. Junior forward Brittney Gideon, redshirt-junior Susie Bernal and Murnan have also chipped in three goals apiece. Bernal has successfully bounced back from missing 2014 with a knee injury with eight points, and all three goals scored have been game-winners. Murnan, a returning all-conference selection, has served as a creator in her midfield position. With five assists this season Murnan's 13 career assists rank her tied for fifth on the all-time career assist leaders at UNLV, and Bernal is close behind her in eighth place with 11. Sophomore Jessie Clark has started the last six games in net for the Rebels and has recorded two shutouts in that span. In eight games this season Clark has a 1.58 goals against average, .767 save percentage and 33 saves.
Scouting San Jose State
San Jose State sits in second place in the Mountain West with an 8-6-2, 6-2-0 record. The Spartans had a three game-winning streak snapped last Sunday at San Diego State with a 2-1 loss in what was a matchup between the two first place teams in the conference. Seven out of eight wins have come at home for San Jose State, and the school is 1-1 at home in conference action after playing six of eight conference games on the road so far this season. The Spartans defeated Boise State 2-1 in overtime on Oct. 2 and lost to Utah State 1-0 on Oct. 4.
Sophomore forward Dorthe Hoppius is the leading scorer for the Spartans with seven goals and 16 points. Hoppius stands among the top offensive players in the conference, ranking sixth in shots (42) and points and fifth in goals. Freshman forward Darriell Franklin ranks tied for sixth in the conference with six goals. Junior midfielder/defenseman Carley McBeath tops the team in assists (four). Senior goalkeeper Zoe Makrigiannis has recorded four shutouts this season, all in conference play, to tie for second in the conference. Makrigiannis has 36, a .735 save percentage and goals against average of 0.90 this season.
Scouting Fresno State
Fresno State enters the weekend with a 4-10-1, 3-4-1 record and is in eighth place in the conference. The Bulldogs had a three game-winning streak end last weekend and lost both games on the road to San Diego State (2-1) and New Mexico (5-1). Fresno State has won two of three home conference games, beating Boise State 4-1 on Oct. 4 and Air Force 1-0 on Oct. 11 and losing to Utah State on Oct. 2.
Sophomore midfielder/forward Myra Delgadillo is the only Bulldog to have double digit points with five goals and 12 points. Seven players have scored one goal, and sophomore midfielder Marla Gomez has chipped in two. Three different goalkeepers have started multiple games for Fresno State. Freshman Marie Berwinkel-Kottmann has received the most playing time, playing in 10 games and starting seven of them. Kottmann has stopped 43 shots to go along with two shutouts, a save percentage of .729 and 1.97 goals against average (gaa). Freshman Nicole Theroux, starting in four games, has 10 saves, a gaa of 5.20 and .435 save percentage. Sophomore Domenique Banta has also started four games and has one shutout, 19 saves, a save percentage of .679 and 1.96 gaa.
All-Time Series
UNLV is 3-1-0 all-time against San Jose State and 3-3-1 versus Fresno State. The Bulldogs have won the past two games in the series, including last year's matchup on Oct. 3 1-0. The Rebels defeated the Spartans last year on Oct. 5 3-0.
