Oct. 30, 2015
San Jose, Calif. --- On a day that San Jose State honored its seniors before playing in their final match at home, it was the freshman, Darriell Franklin, that put Fresno State away, 2-0, in the 2015 regular season finale at Spartan Soccer Field.
"I'm really happy that our seniors got to end their final home game with a win against a rival," said head coach Lauren Hanson. "All of them played fantastic today. After the match I just gave a big thank you to them because they helped our program get to where it is right now."
The win gives San Jose State (10-7-2, 8-3-0 MW) double-digit wins for the first time since 2010, and it gives the team a shot at a first-round bye in the Mountain West Championship next week (Nov. 3-7).
"It feels great to finish our last game at home with a win, and with a really special group of girls," said senior defender Rachel Docherty. "I think it attributes to how hard we've worked this season. These last two years with Lauren as our coach has just made it for me. I've had so much fun and I've learned so much."
Courtney Elterman's pass in from the right side found Franklin in the center of the box, where after one dribble Franklin put a low shot past the Fresno State's keeper. Just over two minutes later Franklin capitalized on a Bulldogs turnover near the box and scored a second goal, her eighth of the season.
San Jose State was all over Fresno State (5-12-1, 4-6-1 MW) from the opening whistle. The Spartans outshot the Bulldogs 12-0 in the first half and 21-6 for the match. 21 shots and eight shots on goal are both 2015 season highs.
Fresno State was eliminated from Mountain West Tournament contention with the loss. San Jose State will now set its sights on the championship which begins next week on November 7.
"Our mentality is that we're going to win it," Hanson said. "We're going in it to win it, no matter what seed, or what day we are playing. We'll just have to see what happens tonight."
Second-place New Mexico takes on the regular-season champion San Diego State Aztecs at home this evening at 7:00 p.m. MT. A tie or loss for the Lobos would give San Jose State second place, and a first round bye in the tournament.
REGULAR SEASON NOTES: San Jose State has reached double-digit wins for the first time since 2010 ... Eight wins in conference play is the most by any SJSU team in program history ...The Mountain West Championship next week will be SJSU's first conference tournament since the 2011 WAC Championship ... Lauren Hanson has won 18 games since arriving in 2014, more than SJSU won in the previous three seasons combined ... Darriell Franklin's five game winners in a season are the most since Stacie Savage had seven in 1997 ... Franklin's eight goals ties Momi Aiu (1995) and Liz Behlen (2005) for the most by a freshman in a single season ...13 of Zoe Makrigiannis' career-leading 16 shutouts have come in the last two seasons ... Friday was the seventh shutout of the year, tying the most for any single-season (2008, 2009, 2014).