One of the downfalls of the 2005 Long Beach State women’s soccer team was its lack of success on the road, winning just twice away from home.
In 2006, it took just two games to match last year’s total.
The 49ers (2-0-0), picked to win the Big West by the conference coaches, traveled north last weekend and recorded a pair of 1-0 victories over the Oregon Ducks and Portland State Vikings to start the new campaign.
“I really wanted to get started in the right direction,” said LBSU head coach Mauricio Ingrassia. “Each half of soccer we played better and we got playing time for three of our freshmen.”
Substitute Dana Fraquhar was the hero against Oregon on Friday, finding the net off a corner kick in the 68th minute for the lone goal of the match.
The Ducks (0-0-1) played the match with ten players after Nicole Drobzyniski received a red card in the 36th minute. LBSU was rewarded a penalty kick after the Drobzyniski penalty, but Kim Silos was unable to kick the ball by Oregon goalie Jesse Chatfield.
LBSU out-shot Oregon 15-9, and had six shots on goal compared to just one for the Ducks.
“The Oregon game was really tough,” Ingrassia said. “But our defense played very well, and we were able to win the game.”
Against PSU, the 49ers were forced to not only battle the opposition but also the playing surface. The Vikings play on a turf field, something LBSU isn’t used to.
“It was a really hard turf and whenever someone didn’t pass the ball right at someone, the ball would roll out of bounds,” Ingrassia said.
Even on the turf, LBSU was able to get on the scoreboard when sophomore Hayley Bolt made no mistake from the penalty spot after Sahar Hagden was fouled in the box in the 32nd minute.
Goalie Liz Ramos made three saves in the match to record her second shutout in the young season. Last year, Ramos broke the school record for shutouts in a season with 10.5.
“It took us about 20 minutes to get used to the turf, but then we started knocking the ball around,” said defender Sara Baca. “It was a good win for us.”
With the two wins, LBSU is undefeated through two matches for the first time in school history.