Durham, N.C. — No shots on goal for the first time in 25 games this season. That’s what thwarted the Long Beach State women’s soccer team’s unprecedented run through the NCAA Tournament in the Elite Eight on Friday.
Top-seeded and third-ranked Duke dominated the No. 8 49ers in every facet of the game with 16 total shots en route to a 2-0 victory at Koskinen Stadium to advance to its first semifinal appearance in the College Cup since 1992.
Duke midfielder Kim DeCesare scored in the 67th minute before sophomore midfielder Gilda Doria added another tally seven minutes later to seal the victory over the ‘Niners (18-6-1), who set program records for wins, goals (49), assists (52), and points (150) this season.
The 49ers (18-6-1) were the only team in Big West Conference history to ever reach the Elite Eight as they recorded the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament victories in the first, second and third rounds. The ‘Niners also became the only school in conference history to be ranked in the top 10.
“Right now, we’re hurting because we feel like we had an outside shot getting into halftime with good energy and [with the score] at 0-0 and feeling strong about it,” said LBSU head coach Mauricio Ingrassia, whose team was outshot by Duke, 16-3, and held to no attempts on goal. “Duke is a fantastic team that’s very talented and they make you pay and I wouldn’t be surprised if they play for a national championship next Sunday.”
Duke (21-3-1), which has appeared in the Elite Eight three times in the last five seasons, will move on to the semifinals in Kennesaw, Ga. to face fellow No. 1-seeded and Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) rival Wake Forest (18-3-4), which posted a 3-0 victory over Central Florida in the quarterfinals Friday.
“It’s huge,” Duke head coach Robbie Church said of the win. “We’ve been trying to get here for a while and it’s my 11th season. … Mauricio [Ingrassia] does a fantastic job studying on tape. I really love how they play, their shape and their possession style, but we wanted to press them and get them out of their rhythm of play. … I thought we were able to do that, but we didn’t capitalize in the first half.
“I thought we shortened our passes in the second half, moved the ball well and attacked from the outside in.”
After a scoreless first half that produced a 5-1 advantage in shots for the Blue Devils thanks to two near goals by freshman forward Kelly Cobb, DeCesare struck with 22 minutes gone by in the second period. Sophomore forward Mollie Pathman sent a cross from the near side of the field to an unmarked DeCesare, who placed a header inside the box that sailed well over the head of LBSU goalkeeper Kaitlyn Gustaves.
The Blue Devils weren’t done just yet, though. Doria put the game out of reach with 16 minutes left to play. She found herself at the top of the box before shaking off LBSU defender Jenny Soza and firing a bullet with her left foot that caught the back of the net from 18 yards out.
“It’s hard being on the losing end of it,” said Gustaves, who went a program-high 544 minutes without conceding a single goal prior to Duke’s first tally, while posting seven shutouts in LBSU’s previous eight matches. “The biggest thing for any team is believing in yourselves and I think we did. [Duke] has a special group of players and they had two great goals, but we can’t be upset with the way that we played.”
Gustaves was among six seniors — five of whom were starters — to play in their final game in an LBSU uniform. She was joined by senior midfielders Shawna Gordon and Sidney Garza, defenders/forwards Nicole Hubbard, Jazz Strozier and Nicole Sweetman. Senior Marysol Rosas, who has been sidelined for the past month with a leg injury, also finished out her LBSU career.
“It’s huge,” Gustaves said of making conference and school history by reaching further in the NCAA Tournament than any other team. “It’s years of work for myself, my team and the alumni to be on the winning end of everyone else’s work. It’s obviously indescribable. I don’t know if it’s completely hit me yet.
“I’ll look back in a month, two months, a year, or two years and say, ‘we were big time and hopefully, the people below us can carry it all the way.'”
Junior forward Nadia Link, who tied an LBSU individual record with 16 goals this season, also expressed her sense of pride and hope for the future of the program.
“I’m really proud of my team; I’m sorry,” said a tearful Link, who tied a single-season school record with 16 goals this year. “The [Blue Devils] were a good team and we came out and played our game, so there shouldn’t be any regrets on the field. … I have a lot of faith in our team and I think the future does look good, but we’re not done; we’re not going to stop here.”
Cobb nearly scored twice in the first half. In the 11th minute, she found herself alone on a breakaway at the top of the box where she fired a rocket that was punched out by Gustaves, who finished with three saves on the night.
Eleven minutes later, she received a cross inside the box — five yards away from the net — where she drilled an open shot that ricocheted off the crossbar and bounced just in front of the goal line before sailing out of play.
The Blue Devils controlled the momentum in first period, eating up possession for nearly the entire half while holding a decisive 5-1 advantage in shots. LBSU’s only shot in the period was credited to freshman midfielder Taylor Nelson, whose attempt was deflected by a Duke defender.
“It was a home game for them and they were really motivated like us,” Link said of
the Blue Devils, who are undefeated at home this season. “They had never been past the Elite Eight round [since 1992], so they did come out with a lot of energy, but I think we did match their energy really well. … I think we could’ve gotten [to the semifinals], but at the same time, it’s disheartening to get to this level and fall. There’s no regrets for our team.”
Despite the loss, Ingrassia said the 49ers have a promising future and will have to live up to extremely high expectations next season.
“We’ve set the bar super high [this season],” Ingrassia said. “Every [LBSU women’s soccer] team is going to have to at least chase [an Elite Eight appearance], which is a blessing and a curse. We’re excited that this run was a part of our program, so we’ll see where we’ll go from here.
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