Long Beach State was denied a fifth-place finish at the Big West tournament as UC Davis dominated the second half to put away the 49ers, 12-7, on Sunday at the Campus Pool.
The loss ended the 49ers’ season as they concluded the 2010 campaign with an overall record of 8-21.
The 49ers were off to a bad start, allowing four goals in the first quarter.
Junior Lauren Sieprath scored two goals to lead the 49ers’ offense. Five other ‘Niners scored.
In the second period, the 49ers were fighting a 4-2 deficit that grew to 6-2. With the game leaning heavily in the Aggies’ favor, LBSU freshman Claire Martin scored with four minutes remaining in the second quarter, stopping a ferocious run by UCD.
A minute later, LBSU freshman Miranda Furuto scored to cut the deficit by two and gain the 49ers some offensive momentum. With 34 seconds remaining in the first half, sophomore Katie Rogers committed an exclusion foul, but LBSU’s tight defense prevented a power play goal to end the first half with the score, 6-4, in favor of Davis.
Two exclusion fouls committed by Martin and one by sophomore Krizia Cerda resulted in one penalty-shot goal by the Aggies to open the second half. Cerda missed a fast-break goal from within 5-meters to help stop the bleeding from the Aggies’ attack. The Aggies scored three unanswered goals to end the third period with an 11-5 lead.
The 49ers outscored the Aggies in the final period, 2-1, but the Aggies were too much for LBSU as Davis goalie Casey Hines had a game-high 11 saves. Junior goalie Kristin Stragier made 10 saves for LBSU.
“We had no gas left in the tank,” Sieprath said, who scored a goal in the game. “I think [Davis] lost 9-3 on Friday and had more energy than us. It was disappointing to end the season.”
Sieprath ended her season as the 49ers’ second-leading scorer, behind Krizia Cerda.
It was a rough season for the 49ers, but the focus has shifted to next season. The team will only lose one player in senior Branwyn Lee.
With one full year under their belts, the 14 freshmen on the team could be more experienced going into next season.
“That will be great for us,” Furuto said. “The playing time we had together this year, I just know we’ll be even better next season.”
Besides Lee, the team will also lose assistant coach Heather Moody, who was promoted to head coach of the USA Women’s Junior National Team, as well as assistant of the Women’s Senior National Team.
“Everyone is really sad about Heather leaving,” Furuto said. “She’s been such a great coach and everyone loves her, but this is an amazing opportunity for her and we’re happy for her.”
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