By Hugo Vera — Staff Writer
The San Jose State University women’s soccer team will conclude its regular season on Friday night in an away game against the Fresno State Bulldogs.
The Spartans head into the final matchup with an overall record of 7-6-4 and 6-2-2 in Mountain West Conference standings.
It will be the end to a season hallmarked by progression week after week.
This year, the Spartans’ first five matches resulted in losses and draws in bouts against West Coast Conference powerhouse Santa Clara University and Big-XII favorite Kansas State.
As the season developed, the Spartans rallied with notable wins over teams such as UC Davis, Colorado College and Air Force.
During conference play, a strong offense bolstered by forward Jamilecxth Becerra and midfielder Gabriella Hurtado contributed to critical conference wins against teams such as Colorado State and UNLV.
Opposing the defending conference-champion Spartans will be a Bulldogs team that is 6-9-3 overall, but a stealthy 5-3-2 conference record.
Much like their Spartan counterparts, the Bulldogs struggled in the first half of the season.
From Aug. 31 to Sept. 21, the Bulldogs suffered a five game losing streak that was snapped by a draw with Air Force.
In the weeks that followed, the Bulldogs improved with key victories over San Diego State, Boise State and most recently, Utah State.
The Bulldog offense will look to San Jose native and forward Emma Chivers for leadership.
The redshirt sophomore has made up for her inexperience with five goals and a shot percentage of .545.
Additionally, Bulldog sophomore midfielder Melissa Ellis became the second leading scorer with goals against Sacramento State and UCSB.
Other Fresno State players to look out for include midfielder Danya Gutierrez who comes into this game with a .714 shot on goal percentage and defender Olivia Muhrbeck who scored the team’s latest goal against Utah State.
The Spartans look to continue their dominant conference play performance and will do so with goalkeeper Paige Simoneau at the helm.
The veteran goalkeeper senior won the conference title with SJSU in 2015 and again 2017 and now looks to end her collegiate career with a third MW title.
Simoneau was named 2015 Mountain West Championship Tournament MVP and is a two-time recipient of the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week Award.
Other Spartans that will play a crucial role in the team’s home stretch are forward Darriell Franklin and defender Haleigh Wynne.
Franklin scored three goals against conference rivals New Mexico and Colorado State. Wynne has had a breakout season, having scored two goals despite having one of the team’s lowest number of minutes played with just 891.
From the start of the season, head coach Lauren Hanson has made her intentions clear. When asked about her goals for the team following the 0-1 loss to San Diego State on Sept. 28th, Hanson simply said, “To win the Mountain West.”
Kickoff on Friday is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Fresno State Soccer Stadium.
The Mountain West Women’s Soccer Championship Tournament is set to begin on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at the Spartan Soccer Complex with the opening match starting at 4:00 p.m.
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