From Reports By Long Beach State Sports Information Department
Five years ago, the Long Beach State women’s soccer team was a side note at LBSU and in the Big West Conference. Enter coach Mauricio Ingrassia four years ago, and the rest is history. His first recruiting class is going to take the field on Friday night at Drake Stadium on the campus of UCLA for the first-ever LBSU birth into the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship.
The Long Beach State women’s soccer team (14-4-4) will open the 64-team tournament against the University of San Diego (14-4-2). The 49ers-Toreros match-up will be the second contest of the evening and is slated to get underway at 8 p.m.
LBSU claimed its unprecedented third consecutive Big West Conference regular season title after going undefeated in league play with a 7-0-1 record. The 49ers also advanced to the BWC Tournament championship game for the first time in school history with a 3-0 triumph over Pacific in the semifinals. The Beach was unable to carry its momentum into the title match, however, as it battled UC Santa Barbara to a 1-1 tie after two overtimes and eventually fell in a shootout, 6-5.
Sophomore Lindsay Bullock has paced the LBSU attack with 10 goals and 21 points. She became just the sixth 49er in school history to score double-digit goals in a season when she put away the game-winner in a 2-1 double overtime victory at UC Santa Barbara (Oct. 31). Senior Hayley Bolt has also been an offensive threat with nine goals and two assists. Classmate Liz Ramos, meanwhile, has anchored the defensive effort with a 0.64 goals against average, an 85.5 save percentage and eight shutouts.
The 49ers ended the regular season on a high note, winning seven of their last 10 games (7-1-2), including a six-match unbeaten streak from Oct. 17-Nov. 6. LBSU’s last loss came on Oct. 8 when it dropped a 1-0 decision to USD. The Beach is 0-8 all-time against San Diego. That game in October was the fourth time this year that LBSU lost 1-0, and some fans were weary of the pattern.
USD (14-4-2) had its seven-game winning streak snapped by No. 3 Portland in the Western Athletic Conference championship match as it suffered a 4-1 loss on its home turf. The 17th-ranked Toreros are led by senior Jen Mello, who has compiled 11 goals and two assists for a team-leading 24 points. Mello scored the only goal in that October game at The Beach. Classmate Brittany Cameron has seen a majority of the action in between the posts, totaling 57 saves to go along with a 0.78 goals against average and eight shutouts.
The winner of the 49ers-Toreros match-up will take on the victor of the UCLA-Fresno State game on Sunday, Nov. 16, at 1 p.m. (PST).