They had balls hit the post and sail over the crossbar, but the 49ers just couldn’t get it in the back of the net.
As dominant as Long Beach State looked on the stat sheet, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas took the match, 1-0, on a penalty kick goal from Rebels’ midfielder Shannon Hughes.
“We were just missing the final touch,” head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said. “We’ve got to put the ball away, but I’m happy with how we played.”
UNLV forward Haley Partridge drew the penalty kick in the 77th minute after being knocked down inside the box.
“It looked like a normal play, but all of a sudden, [the referee] called a penalty kick,” Ingrassia said. “I don’t want to talk about the refereeing, but that call shouldn’t be a part of this game.”
LBSU seemed to have the match in control. The 49ers out-shot UNLV, 17-6, while holding a 12-1 edge in corner kicks.
LBSU forward Sahar Haghdan said the team looked sharp, but just couldn’t execute.
“It’s frustrating to come away with the loss, especially when we were dominating,” she said.
Haghdan also questioned the penalty kick call.
“That was ridiculous,” she said. “There was no need for that call, but that’s the way the game goes. We should have put [the ball] in the net so it wouldn’t become an issue.”
Despite the game-changing call, the 49ers still came close to drawing even on several instances.
Midfielder Dana Farquhar delivered a free kick to midfielder Hayley Bolt in the 85th minute, but Bolt’s header flew high over the bar. Forward Kim Silos also had a chance just inside the box in the 87th minute, but her shot was ripped wide left of the post.
Ingrassia told his team to keep up the relentless attack after the PK goal.
“We needed to get that goal back immediately, but unfortunately, it just didn’t happen,” he said.
The 49ers also played Friday afternoon, defeating Harvard, 3-0, to match the team’s best start in school history, while recording the third shutout through its first four games. Forward Kristen Kiefer, Bolt and midfielder Lindsay Bullock scored for the 49ers.
LBSU (3-1-1) returns to action Thursday in a home match against Brigham Young University at 4 p.m. It also plays Oregon Sunday, Sept. 14 at noon.
“We’re going to come out hard against BYU,” Haghdan said. “This [loss] is motivation for us.”