Soccer, Sports

LBSU soccer punches ticket to NCAA tournament

IRVINE — The Long Beach State women’s soccer team overcame its toughest obstacle of the season Sunday and made some history in the process.

Tabbed to finish sixth in the preseason coaches’ poll after finishing eighth in the Big West Conference last season, the second-seeded 49ers captured their first postseason title in a 1-0 upset over top-seeded UC Irvine at Anteater Stadium.

The Beach (14-5-2) clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, tied the school record for most wins in a season and snapped the Anteaters’ 14-match winning streak. It was UCI’s first loss since late August and the first time it was held scoreless in a match this season.

“It’s a great feeling,” LBSU head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said. “Especially because we did it against one of the best teams in the West Coast this year … nothing was going to deter us from [winning the championship]. We had to have that type of mentality and execution — and a little luck too.”

Senior defender Bo Rael delivered the game-winning goal in the 53rd minute. Forward Nicole Sweetman sent a corner kick into the box that found Rael, who then drilled a header into the net.

“I couldn’t believe the ball actually came to me,” Rael said. “Our strategy actually worked. We pulled Lindsay out a little more because [UCI] was going to double-team Lindsay and we knew that … I was wide open in the middle.

“I made sure to hit it as hard as I could when I headed it down.”

LBSU goalkeeper Emily Kingsborough was named the most valuable player of the tournament after she posted her fifth shutout of the season and saved a season-high six shots in the victory. She finished with eight total saves in two tournament games.

“Today, we came out not to play Irvine, but to play a championship game,” Kingsborough said. “Last time we played Irvine, we looked at [their record] and saw that they [had an undefeated streak] and didn’t approach the game like we might have.”

Kingsborough’s crowning moment came in the 68th minute as she executed a diving stop of UCI defender CoCo Goodson’s 20-yard strike.

Two minutes later, The Beach came storming back with some ammunition of its own. Midfielder Lindsay Bullock aimed for net and fired a strike across the box from the right side of field, but UCI goalkeeper Danielle de Seriere made a diving stuff to thwart the play.

The Anteaters (17-2-2), ranked 11th in the nation, nearly tied the match again in the 77th minute. Kingsborough lunged to her left side as defender Nikki Forrest rocketed a 25-yard shot that clanked off the right post.

“Oh, thank God!” Kingsborough said of her thoughts after the shot. “All I could think about was to close down the angle as fast as I can … because sometimes presence is all you need.”

With less than 30 seconds left in regulation, defender Judy Christopher fired a desperation shot before Kingsborough dove and punched the ball out to seal the 49ers’ fourth victory against a top-25 team this season.

Tensions ran high in the in the 56th minute after Forrest punched ‘Niners forward Nadia Link in the back.

Officials missed the incident, which sparked uproar among LBSU coaches, including Ingrassia, who had a heated verbal exchange with UCI head coach Scott Juniper. However, both sides put their differences aside and shook hands peacefully after the match.

“[UCI’s] a very talented team,” Ingrassia said. “They don’t make mistakes, they’re very good on set pieces and they have some players that can hurt you so we had to be flawless.”

LBSU will make its second NCAA appearance, and first since 2008. The team’s opponent will be announced Monday during the ESPNU selection show at 1:30 p.m. The team will host a viewing party at the Beach Club Sports Bar and Grill at 1 p.m. on the corner of Bellflower Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway.


Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.

 

Comments powered by Disqus

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

Daily 49er newsletter

Instagram