For the first time in its history the Long Beach State women’s soccer team will play its third match of the season and still have a zero in the loss column.
Last week, the 49ers visited our state neighbors to the north, beating Oregon and Portland State 1-0.
This weekend, the 49ers will play its next two matches, but staying undefeated will not be easy.
LBSU will host Southern Utah Friday, for one of only two non-conference home matches this season. Then on Sunday, LBSU will face arguably one of its most difficult opponents on the schedule, when the team drives up Interstate 405 and go up against UCLA.
First on the platter is Mid-Continent representative SUU.
The Thunderbirds are returning nine starters from last year’s squad, which had a 7-6-4 record and finished third in the Mid-Con.
Even with all those starters returning, the Mid-Con coaches picked SUU to finish fifth in the eight-team conference.
The coaches’ preseason prediction looks reasonable, after the Thunderbirds lost 3-1 at Boise State last Friday and then got walloped by Idaho State 6-1 Sunday.
The nine goals given up by SUU last week were staggering, especially considering it took the Thunderbirds nine games to give up nine goals last year and only gave up 16 goals all season.
Goalie Holly Davis, a Mid-Con second team selection last year, will have to do better than she did last week if SUU hopes to stay in the game against LBSU. Davis let nine shots get by her and had only seven saves, but she did save a penalty kick against BSU.
In the midfield senior co-captains Ashley Smith and Dani Lavigne lead the Thunderbirds. Smith’s assist against ISU Sunday put her in a tie for first in the all-time Thunderbirds assist category, a program that has been around for five years.
Up front, Brooklyn Phillips and Catherine Johnson have started the first two matches. Johnson scored the lone goal for SUU in its loss against BSU.
Less than 48 hours after LBSU plays SUU, it will face the No.7 team in the country, according to Soccer America, and UCLA, the No. 5 squad according to SoccerBuzz.com.
The Bruins were the preseason No. 1 team, but last week at the Penn State Invitational, UCLA fell 3-1 to the Nittany Lions in its season opener.
The Bruins quickly recovered and beat Maryland, 3-0, Sunday.
Last season, UCLA reached the NCAA championship final for the second consecutive year, but lost to Portland 4-0 in the final.
Luckily for LBSU, the Bruins currently have five players playing in the FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Championship. Denesha Adams, Jordan Angeli, Tina DiMartino, Erin Hardy and Val Henderson are all representing their country in Russia.
Even though the Bruins have players away on national team duty, UCLA might be the deepest team in the country and will sure to give the 49ers plenty of headaches Sunday.
Junior Ashley Thompson will likely be between the posts. Thompson, who is usually the backup, gave up four goals and had six saves last week.
Senior Mary Castelanelli, who started 25 of 26 games last season, leads the defense. Last week, defender Lauren Wilmoth scored the first goal in the Bruins win over Maryland.
In the midfield, look for junior Stephanie Kron to be an impact player. Kron also scored a goal last week against Maryland.
Bristyn Davis might be the best player on the best team in the country. The forward has been a four-year starter for the Bruins, and LBSU will have to be marking her closely to have chance for an upset.
Before UCLA kicks off against the 49ers, the Bruins will host No. 29 San Diego State Friday.
LBSU comes into this weekend with its highest ranking ever.
SoccerBuzz.com jumped the 49ers to No. 24 in the country, up four spots from last week. LBSU is ranked No. 7 in the West Region.
Goalie Liz Ramos has continued where she left off last year, posting two shutouts in her first two matches of the year. The sophomore holds the all-time career shutout record for LBSU with 12.5.
LBSU might be a little thin on the backline due to an injury to starting defender Tiffany Vaught, who is listed as day-to-day. Look for Torrance native Chantell Hubbard to get extra minutes if Vaught can’t go this weekend.
Senior captain Natalie Messina will be in the center of the defense, and will have to be at her best to control Brisityn Davis when the 49ers face UCLA.
Like always, Hayley Bolt will be counted on to control the midfield and set up chances on goal. Bolt scored the winning goal on a penalty kick against PSU. She leads the team in shots with nine.
At the top, LBSU will be looking to Sahar Haghden and Kim Silos to put the ball in the net.
Haghden was named Big West conference player of the week last week, scoring the game winning goal against Oregon.
Silos went scoreless last week, and missed an opportunity to break a 0-0 tie on a penalty kick against Oregon, but led the 49ers in goals last year with 10.
“When we play UCLA we are going to have to do better in the final third of the field,” said LBSU head coach Mauricio Ingrassia.
See how the 49ers faired against SUU and UCLA online at Daily49er.com.