After Long Beach State’s women’s soccer 1-0 road loss to UCLA this weekend, two things are clear.
If it gets a little luck, LBSU can beat any team in the country, that being said, the 49ers are not one of the elite teams in the country yet.
UCLA is to women’s soccer to what Duke is to men’s basketball.
The Bruins are a perennial power. They have reached the NCAA championship match the past two seasons and have a roster full of players that have experience playing for the Under-20 United States National Team.
If UCLA annihilated LBSU Sunday, few women’s college soccer experts would have blinked an eye. In fairness, if it weren’t for an exceptional performance from 49ers keeper Liz Ramos, the final score could have easily been three or four to nothing.
But on the other hand, if Hayley Bolt’s header in the 52nd minute was just one foot to the right, the 49ers might have pulled off their biggest win in their programs history.
Overall though, the Bruins, who were missing five starters because they were playing in the FIFA Under-20 World Championships, were clearly the better side, and LBSU is still at least a year away from out-playing their rivals from Westwood.
What LBSU does have going for them is one of the stingiest defenses in the nation, which like Sunday, will give them an opportunity to pull of an upset against a superiorly skilled team.
A good goalie can carry a team though a season, and 49ers have one in Ramos.
The sophomore keeper, who already has three shutouts this year and has 13.5 for her career, played exceptionally well against UCLA Sunday.
Her save late in the first half on a 20-yard bullet by UCLA’s Molly Kruger, which forced Ramos to leap high in the air to her right and just got enough of the ball to deflect it of the crossbar, was nothing short of spectacular.
In front of Ramos is Natalie Messina, who is one of the best center backs in the nation. Her calmness and leadership on the field is impossible to measure for an otherwise young team. In the opening week of the season, Messina was named to the Elite Team of the Week by Soccerbuzz.com.
On Friday against Southern Utah, Messina showed that not only can she shutdown the opposing team’s top forward, but she can also help out the offense by distributing long passes down the flanks to the outside midfielders.
Who really makes the 49ers tick, and who must stay healthy this season for LBSU to succeed is midfielder Hayley Bolt.
Bolt scored a phenomenal goal on Friday, bending a shot from outside the penalty box that left the Southern Utah keeper helpless.
Against UCLA, Bolt was a non factor in the opening half, and it showed as the Bruins out-shot the 49ers 10-0. But in the second half Bolt, was the best player on the field, almost scoring a goal and setting up Kim Silos on a perfect chip pass for a scoring chance.
With Ramos, Messina and Bolt, the 49ers have three players who could start for almost any team in the country. Throw in Silos, Yearaldy Hurtado, Sarah Haghden and Dana Farquhar up front, and LBSU has talent on both sides of the field.
The biggest obstacle for LBSU in the coming weeks might not come on the field, but will be their travel schedule.
The 49ers are playing their next six matches on the road. Last season, the 49ers won just twice on the road, but have already matched that total this year, with victories at Oregon and Portland State.
The 49ers are playing in the University of San Francisco Classic next week, and have matches with Utah State and USF.
The next week, LBSU travels to Flagstaff, Ariz. for the Northern Arizona Classic, where they will play Texas State and Tennessee-Martin. The women finish up the road trip in Washington, where they meet Eastern Washington Sept. 22 and Gonzaga Sept. 24.
The 49ers need to keep their heads above water, and when Big West season begins against Pacific Sept. 29, they will have to be ready for difficult conference season.
Even with the hectic September schedule, the goal for LBSU is to win the Big West and to make it into NCAA Tournament, both of which are well within the 49ers reach. But as soon as next year, the ante will be raised, and making Final Four’s and wining national titles will be expected.