Soccer, Sports, Women's Sports

Women’s soccer takes first two season home games against Georgia, Denver.

The Long Beach State women’s soccer team used a pair of thrilling comebacks to secure its first two home wins of the season against Georgia and Denver at the George Allen Field.

Almost immediately, at the start of the second half, the 49ers were down 1-0 after Georgia’s Caroline Waters scored.

The 49ers (2-1-1) responded right away with the first of two goals from freshman Ashley Gonzales. Before they stopped cheering and giving each other high-fives, the Bulldogs took the lead again. Three goals were scored in the span of two-and-a-half minutes.

The 49ers took care of the rest of the scoring though. Senior Taylor Nelson tied the game on a set piece, and then Gonzales finished the game in the 84th minute with a chip shot over the keeper’s head that gave the 49ers a 3-2 win.

“During practice, the coaches always tell me to make those little runs,” Gonzales said. “I actually did this time and got that goal. Practice is working.”

“Big time” was the best way head coach Mauricio Ingrassia could describe his star player.

“She’s a goal-scorer,” Ingrassia said. “That’s why she’s here, to score goals. She had two, she could’ve had a third. She’s just a force.”

Both games were near identical of each other, with the 49ers conceding the first goals on relatively easy opportunities for the opposing side. The second halves, though, allowed the 49ers to show off their impressive mental strength.

“We just [wanted] to make sure they didn’t panic,” Ingrassia said, in reference to what he told the team at halftime against Georgia.

The 49ers didn’t wait until the second half to give up an easy goal against Denver. Despite outplaying the Pioneers for most of the half, it only took one mistake to go into halftime trailing 1-0.

Denver’s Taylor Ivins got behind the defense on a counter, leaving her one-on-one with the keeper. The defense was slow to respond, and it cost them.

Adjustments were made going into the second half, and like the game Friday, the 49ers came out with more energy and better execution. Those changes led to a 2-1 victory.

“I think they knew they couldn’t come out,” Ingrassia said. “We went into a different shape about halfway through the second half.”

“At halftime we kind of got our heads back,” Taylor Nelson, who scored the equalizer against Georgia, said. “We calmed down. We talked about what we needed to do, and energy was one of the main things that we talked about. Our energy hasn’t been anything like it’s been in our other games. We just sort of pumped each other up.”

The 49ers will now focus their attention on UC San Diego and CSU Bakersfield, their opponents for next week’s games at the George Allen Field.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

Daily 49er newsletter

Instagram