49ers at San Diego State, Host Wahine
Beach Have Allowed Just Two Goals This Season
September 2, 2003 Full PDF Release 49ERS TRY TO PICK UP FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON
The 49ers (0-2-0), after dropping its first two matches of the season to NCAA Tournament teams, will try to pick up its first victory of 2003 by traveling to San Diego State (0-2-0) on Thursday at 3 p.m. and by host ing Hawaii (1-1-0) on Sunday at 2 p.m. The 49ers will be playing without All-Big West (HM) defender Natalie Messina (Santa Rosa), who suffered a leg injury in the match at Stanford on Sunday.
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 236-138-30. The 236 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.
MESSINA TO BE EVALUATED
All-Big West (HM) defender Natalie Messina (Santa Rosa) was looked at by team doctors on Monday after suffering a severe injury to the muscle in her left leg during the first half of the match against the Cardinal. 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. When she will return, is unknown.
GOOD DEFENSIVE EFFORTS
The 49er defense has allowed just two goals this season, both in the second half, holding both NCAA Tournament teams without a goal until late in the match. The Aztecs could not break through until the 71st minute, while the Cardinal scored in the 83rd minute. The 49er defensive effort was even more impressive in Palo Alto, as The Beach played without starting defensemen Natalie Messina and Kat Avendano, who both left the match in the first half, due to injury. Avendano is day to day after a concussion.
HARTWYK KEEPS THINGS CLOSE
Sophomore goalie Meghan Hartwyk (Los Alamitos) made two key saves in Palo Alto, smothering a shot in the 56th minute in a scoreless tie, before making a diving save in the 86th minute to keep the 49ers close.
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 seven upperclassmen.
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. Wiegand, a defender in 2002, will move back to forward in 2003, a familiar spot for the junior. In 2001, Wiegand led the team in scoring, earning second team All-Big West honors. Also returning are three honorable mention selections-- all-time leading scorer senior forward Abie Curry (Chico), junior defender Shanna Wender (Fresno) and sophomore defender Natalie Messina (Santa Rosa).
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. 8-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.
READY TO BREAK VINYL
Early this season, Abie Curry (Chico) should become the all-time scorer for the 49ers. Curry already has 11 career goals, good enough for that record, while her 24 career points is just one point (an assist) shy of Kelli Barrett's three-year old record (1998-2000). Curry is also the only player in school-history to tally six points and three goals in a game.
WIEGAND IN TOP-10
Allison Wiegand (Modesto) will enter her junior season in the top-10 in goals scored and total points. Wiegand's seven career goals ranks fifth all-time while her 17 career points ranks sixth.
YOUTH IS SERVED
Nineteen of the team's 24 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 IN TIGHT BIG WEST RACE
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). |
