49ers to Host Final Two This Week
First Place CS Fullerton, 12-Win UC Riverside Come to Town
October 27, 2004
PDF Version of the Release
LONG BEACH STATE 49ERS
RECORD: 6-8-2, 1-5-1 Big West
Quick Kicks: The 49ers host their final two matches this weekend... if they post two wins this weekend, the 49ers will have two straight non-losing seasons... the team's October 31 match against UC Riverside will be the last for four-year starters Kristin Travis, Allison Wiegand and Shanna Wender.
CS FULLERTON TITANS
RECORD: 9-7-1, 5-1-1 Big West
Quick Kicks: The Titans are tied with UC Santa Barbara for first place in the Big West... the Titans have already earned a berth into the Big West Tournament... Kandace Wilson leads the club with nine goals and 19 points, while Kellie Cox has four goals and three assists... Karen Bardsley posts an 0.85 goals against average... the Titans, after starting the year 4-7-1, have won five straight, including a sweep of Utah State and Idaho last weekend.
SERIES VS. LBSU: The series is knotted up at 3-3-0, with The Beach winning the last two meetings, including a 2-1 victory on October 25, 2002, the school's first win over a ranked opponent (CSF was ranked No. 25).
UC RIVERSIDE
RECORD: 12-2-3, 2-2-3 Big West
Quick Kicks: The Highlanders after going undefeated over their first 12 matches (10-0-2), have gone 2-2-1... UCR swept Idaho and Utah State last weekend... UCR is currently in seveth place in the Big West standings, but can still squeak in the Big West playoffs with a win and a tie this weekend... Jenna Leonti leads the club with eight goals, while Renee Scachetti has seven goals... Kacie McElrath has six goals... Tawny Poggio has an 0.69 goals against average.
SERIES VS. LBSU: The 49ers hold a 2-1 series lead after last year, when UCR knocked LBSU out of playoff contention with a 1-0 win in the regular season finale. 49ERS HOST FINAL TWO
Long Beach State (6-8-2, 1-5-1 Big West) will try to post back-to-back .500 seasons when they host their final two matches of the season, featuring first place CS Fullerton (9-7-1, 5-1-1 Big West) on Friday at 3 p.m. and seventh place UC Riverside (12-2-3, 2-2-3 Big West) on Sunday at 2 p.m. Sunday will mark the final career match for three, four-year starters, Kristin Travis, Shanna Wender and Allison Wiegand. Should The Beach win their final two matches of the season, it will be the first time since the program's re-start in 1998 that it has had back-to-back .500 seasons. Last year LBSU went 9-9-0. The 49ers can finish as high as sixth in the Big West standings after posting their first conference victory last Friday.
INGRASSIA AT THE HELM
Mauricio Ingrassia hit the ground running in late May after taking over for Peter Reynaud, who retired after 22 seasons as a head coach. Ingrassia built a very successful junior college program at Long Beach City College, where he won five of the last seven state titles and finished with an 184-24-8 record over nine years. Ingrassia's teams were undefeated over the past two seasons, pulling off a 55-match unbeaten streak. The Vikings achieved back-to-back No. 1 national rankings, while winning two of his final four state titles. LBCC had never reached the playoffs, or won more than seven matches in a season prior to his arrival.
LAST WEEK
Thanks to a season-high three goals, the 49ers picked up their first Big West win of the season, with a 3-1 triumph over travel-partner UC Irvine. Allison Wiegand tallied the team's first goal in the fifth minute, before tallying an assist on Katelyn Quaresma's goal in the 10th minute to give LBSU a 2-0 lead. Elizabeth Romo finished off the scoring with a rebound of her own shot in the 60th minute. Meghan Hartwyk saved five shots in goal to even her season record at 2-2-0.
WIEGAND TOPS CAREER CHARTS
Senior utlity player Allison Wiegand (Modesto) will leave The Beach as one of the top players in school-history, ranking on top of the modern era (post-1998) charts in career goals (18), assists (10) and points (46). Wiegand has also tallied a school-record five game-winners in her four year career over 70 matches played (third all-time). Wiegand is the 49ers first, two-time first team All-Big West player, and is the only player to be named All-Big West three times in a career. Wiegand has closed out her career on a tear, being a part of four of the team's six goals over the past four matches thanks to two goals and two assists.
TRAV-LIN' SENIOR
Senior forward Kristin Travis (Davis) will hang up her cleats for the final time this week, ranking amongst the 49er top-10 in career goals (10), points (30) and assists (10). Her 10 assists is tied for the modern day record, while her five assists this year is tied for ninth-best all-time, and tied for the most since 1998. Travis is also the leader in games played with 71, tying her with Becky Ricci, one match ahead of fellow senior Allison Wiegand and two others.
STEADY ON THE BACKLINE
Shanna Wender (Fresno) has seen a lot of matches over her four-year career, 67 to be exact, the eighth-best in school-history. This year the defense has allowed one or fewer goals in 10 of the team's 16 matches, after doing so 13 times last season, resulting in a record nine wins.
MESSINA RACKING UP AWARDS
Forty-Niner defender Natalie Messina (Santa Rosa) has made a name for herself around the country as one of the top defenders, earning MVP awards at the 49er and Bluejay Classics. She has also been named all-tournament in all three of the 49ers tournaments this season. Messina has usually flanked a team's top player, including two of the West's top players in WAC Player of the Year Natasha Kai and Big West Offensive Player of the Year Jennifer Borcich. Messina was named Big West Player of the Week on October 4.
FRESHMEN EXCEL
Four freshmen have made the most of their first seasons at The Beach, two on defense and two on offense. Katelyn Quaresma (Manteca) is coming of her first career goal this past weekend, and has started six of 10 matches since coming in at midseason, while Hilary Goldberg (Woodbridge) has one goal in 14 matches and six starts. Amanda Perry (Fresno) and Kelli Goes (Manteca) have been stalwarts to the defense, with Perry starting 12 of 15 contests, and Goes starting eight of 13.
ROMO'S CHOICE MAKES GOOD
Sophomore Elizabeth Romo (Whittier), a Foothill League MVP last year at Rio Hondo JC, followed Coach Maurcio Ingrassia to Long Beach, Long Beach State to be exact. Romo originally planned to go to Long Beach CC, before Ingrassia (and Romo) settled at 1250 Bellflower and George Allen Field. Romo is tied for third on the team in points (five) after tallying a goal last Friday against UC Irvine.
GOTTHARDT SHUTS THE DOOR
Sophomore Tara Gotthardt (Pleasanton) already has the single-season record for shutouts, posting 5.5 this season, while her 1.44 goals against average is sixth-best. Her 6.5 career shutouts is tied with fellow goalie, Meghan Hartwyk (Los Alamitos) for second-best all-time. Gotthardt has also played the fourth-most minutes in a single season (1058).
O'DONNELL OUT FOR THE SEASON
Junior defender Shaina O'Donnell (Victorville) will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn ACL to her right knee at Cal Poly. O'Donnell, a valuable addition to the lineup, appeared in 10 games this season.
GREAT START
The 49ers opened up the season 3-0-1, their best start in Big West play, and won two tournaments this season, the 49er Classic and the Bluejay Classic behind two-time tournament MVP Natalie Messina. LBSU began the year 5-3-1 before going 0-5-1 to start Big West play.
NOTHING BUT ZEROES
The 49ers have posted six shutouts this season, tying the school-record. The team's three-straight shutouts at the start the year also set a record.
GOLDEN GOAL A SUCCESS
The team's first annual golden goal fundraiser was a success on August 20 as the dinner and silent auction raised in the neighborhood of $10,000 for the program.
PRE-SEASON NOTES
49ERS PICKED TO FINISH SIXTH
Cal Poly, which won the title last year, garnered nine of the 10 first place votes and 99 total points and is picked by the league's coaches to win the Big West. UC Santa Barbara (84 points), CS Fullerton (78) and UC Irvine (61) round out the top four. UC Riverside follows with 59 points, while The Beach (50), Pacific (41), CS Northridge (40), Utah State (27) and Idaho (11) round out the field. Last year five teams came within two wins of first place. LBSU finished tied for fourth place. The top four teams reach the Big West Tournament.
WIEGAND TOP ALL AROUND PLAYER?
Allison Wiegand (Modesto) may be the conference's top all-around player, earning all-conference honors at three positions during her career. She began her career as a forward, earning second team honors, before leading the team's defense in 2002 and earning first team accolades. Last year at midfielder, she was also a first team selection. She has played all three positions this year. |
