11:45am | Anyone who was expecting a repeat of the Long Beach State women’s soccer team’s disastrous 5-11-3 campaign last season is eating their words today.

The 49ers defeated Cal State Northridge yesterday 2-1 to advance to the Big West Conference Tournament Final on Sunday. They’ll face UC Irvine, who beat Pacific 2-1 yesterday. The winner will advance to the NCAA Tournament.

The win improved the 49ers’ record to 13-5-2 overall, almost an exact reversal of a disappointing 2009 season. But head coach Mauricio Ingrassia has his players at the top of their game when it counts most.

Standout junior Shawna Gordon drew first blood when she rebounded a deflection in the CSUN box and found the back of the net just 13 minutes into the game. The 49ers would head into halftime with a 1-0 advantage, until senior Nikki Myers made it 2-0 in the 80th minute with a mid-air strike from a Marysol Rosas cross.

Northridge scored a few minutes later off a deflection, but it was too late. The 49ers held off aggressive attempts to tie the game and emerged with the huge victory.

The Big West championship will be held this Sunday, November 7 at UC Irvine at 12:00pm.