49ers Take Its Winning Streak on the Road
LBSU Has Shutout Last Two Opponents
September 16, 2003 Full PDF Version of Release NINERS HEAD EAST
Winners of two in a row, the 49ers (2-4-0) will head East to play two NCAA Tournament teams this weekend, at Hartford (1-3-0) on Friday at 4 p.m. PDT and at No. 7-ranked UConn (3-0-2, play West Virginia on Friday) on Sunday at 10 a.m. PDT. The 49ers are coming off two wins at its own 49er Classic, shutouts of Eastern Washington and Southern Utah.
at Hartford Hawks | Sept. 19 | 4 p.m. PDT
RECORD: 1-3-0
Quick Kicks: The Hawks have been outscored 13-4 this season, picking up its first win of the season last Sunday over conference rival Maryland-Baltimore County... Hartford had lost its first three contests 13-1... Hartford is one of five NCAA Tournament teams on the schedule this season for LBSU.
SERIES VS. LBSU: never met
HEAD COACH: Eva Bergsten (30-15-0, 3rd year)
at #7 UConn | Sept. 21 | 10 a.m. PDT
fans can follow the action live at uconnhuskies.com
RECORD: 3-0-2 (host W. Virginia on Friday)
Quick Kicks: The Huskies, at No. 7, have its highest ranking of the season... junior forward Jessica Gjertsen leads the club with five goals, while All-Big East forward Kristen Graczyk and freshman Meghan Schnur have two goals and two assists a piece... UConn won the Portland Invitational last weekend, tying the Washington Huskies, 1-1 and defeating the defending National Champions, the Pilots, 3-2 in the final minute of the second overtime... opponents have scored just four goals this season, two from the defending Champs... UConn reached the NCAA Quarterfinals last year.
SERIES VS. LBSU: never met.
HEAD COACH: Len Tsantiris (386-97-25, 23rd year)
UPCOMING SCHEDULE FOR THE BEACH: The 49ers return home for a three-match homestand, featuring Weber State (Sept. 27), UC Santa Barbara (Oct. 3) and Cal Poly (Oct. 5).
AT THE HELM
Veteran coach Peter Reynaud (CS Hayward ‘72) is in his third year as the 49ers' head coach and his 22nd season overall as a head coach. Reynaud is 238-140-30. The 238 career victories ranks amongst the all-time top-10 in collegiate soccer history. Reynaud won a National Championship with Sonoma State and has led his teams to seven NCAA Tournaments.
LAST WEEK
LBSU took two wins at its own 49er Classic last weekend, defeating Eastern Washington 2-0 behind two scores from freshman Jen Robin (Fair Oaks), before winning 3-0 over Eastern Washington as Abie Curry (Chico) became the school's all-time points leader with the third goal of the afternoon. Allison Wiegand and Amy Liepham also had goals in the win. LBSU finished second to UC Santa Barbara, based on goals scored, followed by EWU and SUU. Lauren Doffing (San Diego) and Abie Curry (Chico) were named all-tournament for LBSU.
REVERSAL OF FORTUNES
After not scoring a goal over its first four matches, LBSU shutout its next two opponents, winning both matches of the 49er Classic. After tallying just eight shots (four on goal) over the first four matches, The Beach has exploded for 54 shots (25 on goal) over its last three, outscoring opponents 5-1. The defense has remained solid, allowing just five goals so far this year.
THIS LOOKS FAMILIAR
Like this year, the 49ers started off 0-4-0 also, en route to an 0-5-1 start, but finished on a relative hot streak, closing the season at 6-4-4.
ALL-TIME POINTS LEADER
With an assist and a goal this past weekend, Abie Curry (Chico) became the school's all-time point leader with 27 points. Curry, who already is the 49ers all-time goals leader, added her 12th on Sunday after assisting on a goal on Friday.
WIEGAND MOVES INTO TOP-FIVE
Junior Allison Wiegand (Modesto) keyed both winning scores this past weekend, sending a cross to Jen Robin (Fair Oaks) for the winning score on Friday against Eastern Washington, before taking a cross from another freshman, Nicole Cross (Cathedral City), on Sunday for the team's first goal against Southern Utah. With the three points, Wiegand is now fifth all-time with 20 career points.
ROBIN PUTS BEACH ON THE BOARD
Freshman Jen Robin (Fair Oaks) not only tallied her first two career goals last Friday, but also put her teammates on the scoreboard for the first time since November 1, 2002 (a span of 535 minutes). In the 20th minute, Robin took a cross from Allison Wiegand (Modesto) for the 49ers first goal of the season, before benefitting from a rebounded shot in the penalty box to put the contest away in the 87th minute.
MESSINA LOST FOR THE SEASON
All-Big West (HM) defender Natalie Messina (Santa Rosa) will receive a medical redshirt after suffering a lower left leg injury at Stanford on August 31. Messina was heading a ball at midfield, and fell backwards when the injury occurred. Messina had opened the season by shutting down USD's Michelle Rowe, a member of the Canadian National program, and is a key loss to the 49er defense.
SIX YEARS AND COUNTING
2003 will mark the sixth season for the Long Beach State program and third under Head Coach Peter Reynaud. The young 49ers return seven starters and feature just six upperclassmen. Five upperclassmen start.
FOUR ALL-BIG WEST PLAYERS RETURN
First team All-Big West Allison Wiegand (Modesto) leads a group of four all-conference selections on the 49ers this season. Also returning are honorable mention selections senior forward Abie Curry (Chico), and junior defender Shanna Wender (Fresno). Sophomore defender Natalie Messina (Santa Rosa) will miss the season with a leg injury.
GETTING READY IN A HURRY
This year's schedule features five NCAA Tournament teams, of which two are top-10 programs. LBSU opened against San Diego, and No. 4-ranked Stanford, and will travel to No. 7-ranked UConn (Sept. 21) and Hartford (Sept. 19), as well as host Big West Champion and NCAA representative Cal Poly (Oct. 5).
TOP POINT SCORERS RETURN
The 49ers return both of its top point scorers in each of the last two seasons. Senior Abie Curry (Chico) returns as the leading goal scorer from last year (8g-2a-18pts), while Allison Wiegand (Modesto) led the team in 2001 (5-2-12 in ‘01). Also returning to the front line are Kristin Travis (Davis) who has six career goals and Shaina O'Donnell (Victorville), who led LBSU in assists in 2002, with three.
YOUTH IS SERVED
Sixteen of the team's 22 players will enter the season with one or less year of collegiate playing experience. Of those, 12 are freshmen, including redshirt goalie Tara Gotthardt (Pleasanton), midfielders Jen Robin (Fair Oaks), and Erin Empting (Fountain Valley) and defenders Brenna LaBine (Fair Oaks), Heather Kindschi (Huntington Beach) and Kat Avendano (Buena Park).
49ERS PICKED TO FINISH FIFTH
With 59 total points, the 49ers are picked to finish fifth in the Big West Conference. This year's conference should be very competitive, as UC Santa Barbara (92 points), Cal Poly (89) and CS Fullerton (82), all garnered first place votes. UC Irvine (60) edged LBSU by one point for fourth place, followed by Pacific (49), UC Riverside (44), CS Northridge (37), Idaho (21) and Utah State (17). The top four teams will play in a two-round conference tournament in Fullerton on November 7 and 9.
2002 IN REVIEW
The 49ers (6-9-5, 4-2-3 BWC) finished in fifth place in the Big West Conference, contending for a league title with two weeks left in the regular season. After an 0-5-1 start, The Beach closed the season 6-4-4, with three, five-goal victories, the program's first-ever win over a ranked opponent and numerous school records broken. In additional, the schedule may have been the toughest in school history featuring four opponents who at one time were nationally ranked (Pepperdine, Purdue, Saint Mary's, CS Fullerton) and two others who were regionally ranked (UW-Milwaukee, Navy). |
