Things went from bad to ugly for the Long Beach State women’s soccer team on Friday at George Allen Field.
The 49ers suffered its first shutout of the season to the University of California-Berkeley, 2-0, in a match where the tension between the two teams resulted in a combined 20 fouls.
LBSU forward Nadia Link was involved in a minor altercation in the 63rd minute after she received a hard slide tackle from Bears forward Genesse Daughtee. Link retaliated by shoving Daughtee to the ground as teammates had to separate the players before further escalation. Both players were issued yellow cards for their actions in the conflict.
The ‘Niners (4-3-0) allowed UC Berkeley (6-1-0) to break through early with a penalty kick from Laura Battung after she was fouled near the goal box by defender Jenny Soza. Goalkeeper Kaitlyn Gustaves guessed incorrectly and dove to the opposite side as Battung was able to score with relative ease at the 3:15 mark.
“You can’t shoot yourself in the foot like that and expect to win,” LBSU head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said. “We battled, but we didn’t give ourselves a chance. That’s the frustrating part.”
The Bears’ second goal was scored by forward Katie Benz, who managed her way around a crowd of defenders and connected from six yards out. The ‘Niners attempted to clear the ball from the goal, but the pass was cut off by Benz, who connected on a sliding shot that caught the inside corner of the net.
Long Beach missed a couple key opportunities to score late in the game. Senior defender Nicole Hubbard fired a shot that sailed just wide of the goal, while forward Kelsey Wilson had a shot that ricocheted off the post.
“We put ourselves in a hole,” senior midfielder Shawna Gordon said. “We made it hard on ourselves and that put our players in a difficult position.”
The 49ers out-shot the Bears, 9-7, while both teams finished with two corner kicks each.
The Beach will return to action Sunday on the road against San Diego State at Monetezuma Mesa. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
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