FULLERTON — Senior midfielder Lindsay Bullock compiled a hat trick to lead the Long Beach State women’s soccer team to a decisive 5-2 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Sunday at Titan Soccer Stadium.
Bullock’s hat trick was the first for the 49ers since October 2008 when Hayley Bolt scored three goals in a 5-0 victory over Cal State Northridge.
“When Lindsay’s on her game, she’s hard to stop,” LBSU head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said. “And it makes all the other people around her better.”
The 49ers (10-3-2, 3-0-1 Big West Conference) broke the scoreless game open in the 16th minute when Bullock delivered the first of her three goals. Defender Chantel Hubbard sent a cross from midfield that found Bullock, whose off-balance header sailed over the reach of Titans’ goalkeeper Jessica Change.
“It’s really rewarding,” Bullock said of the hat trick. “All my hard work paid off and it translated into three goals.”
Four minutes later, the Titans (5-10-0, 2-2-0 Big West) tied the game at one apiece when forward Geminesse Martinez fired a free kick from the left side of the box that deflected off the LBSU wall and dropped into the far net.
But the ‘Niners stormed back as Bullock struck again in the 34th minute when her softly-placed header from inside the box lofted over the head of Change. Defender Alex Balcer was credited with the assist.
“[Our coaches] said that [Change’s] weakness was that when the ball was lofted [Change] had a hard time judging it,” Bullock said. “So that’s what I did…and [the ball] went in.”
The Beach put the game out of reach in the 53rd minute when defender Nicole Hubbard connected on a 30-yard rocket to extend the lead, 3-1.
Bullock completed her hat trick in the 74th minute when she scored off a penalty kick that found the top right corner of the net. The goal marked her fifth score of the season.
Less than two minutes later, Hubbard tallied her second goal of the game when she headed the ball over a cluster of players in front of the net. Junior midfielder Shawna Gordon was credited with the assist.
CSUF managed to record their second goal in the final minute of the contest when Kishi Smith’s corner kick found midfielder Lauren Mellano, who headed it into the net.
The ‘Niners faced little resistance throughout the match as they fired off 20 shots — eight of which came on goal — while the Titans were held to 10 attempts.
The Beach also won a convincing battle in corner kicks, 7-1.
‘Niners goalkeeper Emily Kingsborough and Change each recorded three saves.
LBSU has now captured at least 10 victories in five of the last six seasons and extended its unbeaten streak to seven games.
“You could tell we were really sharp in the warm up and we’ve been sharp all week,” Ingrassia said. “And I’m proud of [the team] because they were able to put it all together on the field.”
The 49ers will return to Big West action on Thursday as they play host to UC Irvine (13-1-2, 5-0-0 Big West). Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
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