49ers Begin 2004 at Home
Under New Head Coach, The Beach is Set to Kick Off
August 24, 2004
PDF File of the Release QUICK TEAM CAPSULES
LONG BEACH STATE 49ERS
RECORD: 0-0-0, 0-0-0 Big West
Quick Kicks: The 49ers open up the 2004 campaign with a new coach, Maurcio Ingrassia, and a veteran squad of 18 returning lettermen and nine returning starter. Last year, The Beach won a modern day record nine games and finished with the program's first .500 season since the team's re-start in 1998. LBSU plays its first four matches at home.
SACRAMENTO STATE HORNETS
RECORD: 0-0-0
Quick Kicks: The Hornets are picked to finish last (seventh) in the Big Sky Conference.. last year, Sacramento State went 6-9-3... three of the team's top four scorers return from last year led by leading scorer, Jenae Kee's four goals and five assists... Katie (Sheppard) Poynter is in her first season as the interim head coach... Sheppard was a standout at UC Irvine from 1997 to 1999, earning All-Big West honors twice, before playing for the National Champion Santa Clara Broncos in 2001.
SERIES VS. LBSU: Sacramento State leads 1-0, with the only meeting coming in 1998 (2-1).
SAN FRANCISCO LADY DONS
RECORD: 0-0-0 (play at CSUN on Friday)
Quick Kicks: The Lady Dons will open up the 2004 season at CS Northridge on Friday, in the first of six straight road matches... USF went 5-14-0 last year after going 9-10-1 two years ago... the Hilltoppers return all five of their top goal scorers from last year, including sophomore forward Shuree Hyatt and her eight goals... USF is picked to finish last in the eight-team West Coast Conference, which features three teams ranked in the top-25... Head Coach Pamela Kalinoski is in her third season after a standout career at North Carolina. She left as the NCAA's all-time assist leader, which was later broken by teammate Mia Hamm.
SERIES VS. LBSU: The Hilltop leads the series 1-0, winning 2-1 in 2000. TEAM NOTES
NEW ERA BEGINS THIS WEEK
The 49ers (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Big West) will kick off the 2004 campaign this weekend when they host Sacramento State (0-0-0) on Friday at 5 p.m., before hosting the University of San Francisco (0-0-0, at CS Northridge on Friday) on Sunday at 2 p.m. The weekend will mark the first of four-straight home matches for The Beach, concluding with next week's second annual 49er Classic, featuring UC Davis, Iona and Drake. The team's first two contests will be aired on local television with the dates and times to be announced on the Long Beach State website.
INGRASSIA TAKES OVER
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, winning a remarkable 55-straight matches. 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.
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.
FIVE GAMES ON TV
In a first for the 49er soccer program, The Beach will have five of its nine home matches on local television. Games scheduled to be televised are this week's contests against Sacramento State and USF; and the 49ers' Big West contests against Pacific (October 8), CS Northridge (October 10) and UC Riverside (October 31). Air dates and channels will be available via the website.
BEACH RETURN INTACT FOR 2004
The Beach will return 18 lettermen with Division-I experience and nine starters from last year's team. At the first day of tryouts on August 11, upwards of 50 players tried out. That roster is now at just over 30 players, led by senior forwards Allison Wiegand (Modesto) and Kristin Travis (Davis) and senior defender Shanna Wender (Fresno).
MOMENTUM HEADING INTO THE SEASON
The 49ers are coming off their best Big West season in school-history, tying the record for the most wins since the program's re-start in 1998, and finishing with the first .500 season (9-9-0) since 1986. LBSU won nine of its final 14 matches after an 0-4-0 start. The team's record could have been even better, as six of the nine losses were by a single goal.
FOUR ALL-BIG WEST PLAYERS RETURN
The Beach will return four All-Big West performers this season, highlighted by the program's first, two-time first team All-Big West player in Allison Wiegand (Modesto). Two-time honorable mention pick Shanna Wender (Fresno) returns to the backline, as does sophomore honorable mention defender Natalie Messina (Santa Rosa). Sophomore Erin Empting (Fountain Valley) earned honorable mention accolades last season at midfielder.
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.
WIEGAND AMONGST ALL-TIME GREATS
Allison Wiegand (Modesto) will likely take over the modern day (1998-present) records for goals (currently 16), assists (7) and points (36) sometime this season. Wiegand is amongst the top-10 in all three major statistical categories, ranking fifth in goals (14), ninth in assists (6) and fifth in points (34).
MESSINA RETURNS FROM INJURY
Sophomore defender Natalie Messina (Santa Rosa) returns to the backline after redshirting last year from a dislocated fibula. Messina earned honorable mention All-Big West honors as a freshman. That year she anchored the team's defense which allowed one or fewer goals in 13 of 20 contests. Two years ago, the 49ers allowed just seven goals over their final eight games.
SOLID BACKLINE
The 49er defense should be just as good with the return of senior Shanna Wender (Fresno) and junior Shaina O'Donnell (Victorville). Despite the loss of four-year starter Lauren Doffing, the return of Natalie Messina (Santa Rosa) the defense should not miss a step. Last year the team set records for the least amount of shots allowed (225) and goals allowed (22). Last year, five of the team's nine wins were by shutout.
SOPHOMORE MIDFIELDERS
Two of the team's young and valuable midfielders from last year, sophomores Erin Empting (Fountain Valley) and Jen Robin (Fair Oaks), return for their second season. Empting earned honorable mention All-BWC honors after 16 starts, while Robin appeared in 15 games.
FRESHMEN EXCEL EARLY
Two freshmen have made an early impact on the pre-season in midfielders Hilary Goldberg (Woodbridge) and Kelli Goes (Manteca). Goldberg, who scored the only goal of the team's scrimmage with Biola, was a two-time All-San Joaquin Conference performer. Goes was a three-time all-league pick out of central California.
GOALIES TO SPLIT TIME TO START
The goalkeeping tandem of junior Meghan Hartwyk (Los Alamitos) and sophomore Tara Gotthardt (Pleasanton) will again split time in goal to start the year. Hartwyk posted a single-season best 0.88 goals against average last year, while Gotthardt had a 1.67 GAA.
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