The Long Beach State women’s soccer team will make its final road trip of the regular season Friday. The 49ers will travel to winless Cal State Northridge while looking to make up for the two ties in its last three matches.
The 49ers (8-5-2, 2-1-2 Big West) are currently in fifth place in the Big West Conference. They are looking for a win this weekend that would help catapult them into contention for the postseason Big West tournament, which features the top four-seeded teams.
With eight points on the season, the ‘Niners are only one point out of second place, trailing a three-way tie between UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine and UC Riverside.
The Matadors (0-4-1 Big West, 5-10-1) haven’t won yet in conference play, as they’ve lost four games while tying with Cal State Fullerton. The Matadors have also suffered through a dry offensive spell in their last three games, losing three consecutive 1-0 shutouts.
LBSU has struggled to win close matches recently as well, having won just one game in its last three tries. The other two matches both resulted in hard-fought double overtime draws against UC Davis and Hawaii.
Leading the Matadors this Friday will be forward Brittanie Sakajian and midfielder Hannah Wissler, both of whom lead the team in points with six each.
Last season the Matadors beat the 49ers 1-0 in double overtime at George Allen Field. It was the final match of the regular season and knocked LBSU out of tournament contention with a fifth-place finish.
The ‘Niners and Matadors will square off at 7 p.m. at Matador Soccer Stadium.