The Long Beach State women’s soccer team dropped out of the NCAA top-25 and will play Santa Clara at George Allen Field on Sunday.
The 49ers (4-3-3) have returned from a cross-country trip in Florida. This will be the first home game for the 49ers in nearly two weeks.
After ranking in the NCAA top-25 for most of the season, the team did not make the latest rankings for the first time this month. They’re still receiving votes, so putting together a few consecutive wins could help them get back on the list.
The Beach is coming off a 3-1 victory at Florida International, receiving contributions from two unlikely sources. Two goals from junior forward Vania Robles and one from sophomore defender Marie Mackenzie gave the 49ers the spark they needed.
Head coach Mauricio Ingrassia stressed the need to finish the chances the team creates in the box. Freshman forward Ashley Gonzales and sophomore forward Mimi Rangel have done most of the scoring this season.
The 49ers will now get set to host Santa Clara (5-4-0) in a rematch of last year’s 4-0 defeat. The 49ers visited the Broncos last year and suffered their worst loss of the season. The Broncos scored two goals in the first two minutes, eventually building a 3-0 heading into halftime.
Broncos senior forward Sophia Huerta, has more goals (seven) than the rest of her team combined (five). Senior midfielder Kat McAuliffe has two goals, and leads the team in assists with four.
Gonzalez leads the 49ers with four goals, while Rangel picked up two goals and five assists.
Three of the four losses for the Broncos have come against ranked opponents (California, Notre Dame and Stanford). They currently have 12 goals; the 49ers have 11.
This will be the last nonconference game for the 49ers before they begin Big West Conference play at home against Cal Poly next Friday. The 49ers will play five of their last nine games at home, where they are undefeated.
The game is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. on George Allen Field.