After a great stretch of wins on the road, The Beach came closer to home at the Wallis Annenberg Stadium to face off against the Bruins who are ranked No. 4 in the nation. However, LBSU falls short against UCLA with the final score of 4-0 on 7 p.m.
LBSU had some momentum, securing victories in each of their last three games, including a 3-2 win against No. 22 Harvard.
Long Beach State started the game strong, controlling the pace of play in the first 15 minutes, and getting two shots on goal.
While a strong start kept the hopes high for the game to begin with, UCLA would then score a goal at the 20-minute mark, sending LBSU into a more defensive role. LBSU heads into halftime down 2-0 with two back-to-back goals off of crosses.
Working into the second half, The Beach started slow, with UCLA’s confidence on the field gradually increasing to take greater control of ball positioning. Nonetheless, LBSU was working extremely hard on the defensive end, behind great performances by junior defensive midfielder Maddy Perez and redshirt freshman Kana Uchida.
UCLA had a total of three shots in the first 10 minutes but did not convert due to LBSU’s backline and goalkeeper Zora Standifer, having numerous acrobatic saves.
Long Beach State got caught on a UCLA breakaway which caused the goalkeeper to accidentally catch the UCLA forward’s leg causing a penalty. She received a red card at first which caused a commotion, but was overturned and the goalkeeper received a yellow instead.
The penalty was converted and LBSU was down 3-0 with 25 minutes left to go in the game.
One of the greater issues for LBSU was in their offensive plays. The build-up play was solid, but there was no clear finishing in the final attacking third.
The Beach finished the night with only four shots on goal, with only one true clear chance in the second half. With 10 minutes left to go, UCLA scored their final goal of the night from outside of the box, leaving the final score, 4-0.
“Obviously it was a tough night for us, we came back from two games last weekend including a travel while UCLA just played once, so I think they were a bit fresher than we were,” Head Coach for Long Beach State Mauricio Ingrassia said.
“We just did not do a good job marking in the box and they scored on us twice like that,” Ingrassia said, “We have a tough game on Sunday so I am glad we were able to rest some of our players in preparation for that matchup.”
On a brighter note, Cherrie Cox, who two weeks ago suffered a neck injury against BYU, played her first game since the injury. Playing for 70 minutes with a performance that entailed a full recovery.
“First game back was definitely a little scary but I’m trying my best to come back stronger,” Cox said, “My touch is a little rough but I am going to keep on working and improving. Thankful for my team and supporters.”
Long Beach State plans to get back on track this Sunday against Utah Valley at 1 p.m. back home at George Allen Field, just in time to be in front of the home crowd to see them back in action.