Cal State Fullerton junior forward Jenny Mescher notched her second hat
trick of the season and helped lead the Titans to their first outright
Big West Conference crown as they defeated UC Riverside, 4-0, on Friday
afternoon to close out the 2001 regular season.
Fullerton finishes the regular season with a 13-6-0 overall record and
a 8-1-0 record in league play. The Highlanders close out 2001 with a 5-11-0
overall record and a 1-8-0 mark in the Big West.
Mescher tallied her first hat trick of the year back on Sept. 23 as the
Titans shutout Southern Utah, 8-0.
Junior Michele Bannister got the Titans on the board first at 5:42 in
the opening half, thanks to an ill-played rebound off the Riverside defense
from a Kim Houg shot. Mescher then made it 2-0 with her first goal of
the afternoon, dribbling around a defender on the left side and beating
goalkeeper Katie Blank far post at 17:55.
After the half, Mescher continued her stellar afternoon with her second
goal of the match, as Houg pushed a ball into the box and onto Mescher’s
feet on the left side as she beat Blank once again to the far post for
a 3-0 lead.
Mescher completed the scoring in the 71st minute, getting another through
ball from Bannister in the box and beating Blank to the right post.
Titan sophomore goalkeeper Laura Janke faced 12 shots
and made seven saves on the afternoon for her fifth shutout of the season.
That ties her with Suzy Strazzula for first-place on the single-season
shutout lists and moves her just one shutout behind Strazzula for the
career shutout record.
Bannister and Mescher both moved up on the single-season points list with
their outstanding afternoons. Both have 25 points on the season and are
now tied with Amber Dickey (1995) for fourth place on the list.
Bannister also moves into a tie for 11th on the career points list while
Houg, with her two assists on the day, moves into 10th with 26 career
points.
Cal State Fullerton now awaits the NCAA Selection Committee to determine
its postseason fate in the first round of the NCAA Women’s College
Cup. The selection show will take place on Monday, Nov. 12, at noon and
will be televised on Fox Sports Northwest, South and New England.
