Beach to Host 49er Classic This Weekend
Friday's Games at LBSU; Sunday's Contests are at LBCC
September 1, 2004
PDF Version of the Release LONG BEACH STATE 49ERS
RECORD: 1-0-1, 0-0-0 Big West
Quick Kicks: The 49ers host their second annual 49er Classic this weekend after an undefeated first weekend under new skipper Maurcio Ingrassia. Last year's classic had UC Santa Barbara winning, followed by LBSU.
DRAKE BULLDOGS
RECORD: 0-2-0
Quick Kicks: The Bulldogs were co-champions of the Missouri Valley Conference last season and are picked to finished second this year... this is the just the program's third year after going 8-8-4 in 2002 and 13-7-0 in 2003... Drake returns all 11 starters and finished the season No. 34 in the country... MF Andrea Schmitz and F Melissa Nelson are the team's top returning scorers... they opened the season with losses to Arizona (3-0) and Iowa State (2-0) at the Cyclones tournament... two Californians return hom in Kendra Brown (Encinitas) and Nicole James (Lake Forest)... Corbin Stone is in his third year.
SERIES VS. LBSU: Never Met.
IONA GAELS
RECORD: 0-2-0
Quick Kicks: Iona opened the season with a 1-0 loss to Stony Brook and a 3-0 loss to Fordham... Emma Hayes is in her second year after the Gaels went 3-13-2 last seasons... Iona features 25 underclassmen on their roster, of which 16 are freshmen... all but two of their players (Meghan Weston is from Florida and Eerli Earnshaw is from Wales) are from the East Coast and New York, New Jersey and New England area... Iona is picked to finish eighth in the 10-team Metro Athletic Conference.
SERIES VS. LBSU: Never Met.
UC DAVIS AGGIES
RECORD: 0-1-0
Quick Kicks: UC Davis opened up the season with a 3-2 loss to No. 22-ranked Cal Poly, the start of a four-game roadtrip... the Aggies are in the transition from Division-II to Division-I and will join the Big West next year... UCD has won the Sears Director's Cup at D-II in six of the last eight years... Mary Claire Robinson is in her 13th year, two wins shy of 130... last year they were 9-9-1. 49ERS CONCLUDE HOMESTAND WITH CLASSIC
The 49ers (1-0-1) will close out their four-match homestand this weekend when they host the second annual 49er Classic on Friday and Sunday. Friday's games will feature UC Davis (0-1-0) against Iona (0-2-0) at 2 p.m. and Drake (0-2-0) and The Beach at 5 p.m. On Sunday, UC Davis will face Drake at 11 a.m. and Iona will play LBSU at 1 p.m. The 49ers will then embark on the franchise's longest roadtrip, featuring trips to Hawaii, San Diego, Omaha, NE and California's central coast. The team's roadtrip will encompass over 5700 miles over the next month.
SUNDAY'S GAMES MOVED
Sunday's matches of the 49er Classic will be moved to Long Beach City College due to the Blues Festival on campus. LBCC's field is located on Carson, just west of Clark behind the tennis courts.
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, 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
The 49ers opened up the 2004 campaign with their first ever season-opening win, taking care of Sacramento State 2-1, before tying the University of San Francisco 0-0 two days later. Against the Hornets, the team's three seniors each got into the action, as Kristin Travis scored the first goal in the eighth minute, before Allison Wiegand headed a direct kick from Shanna Wender in the 64th minute for the eventual game-winning goal. On Sunday, after a quiet start, LBSU took all 11 of its shots over the final 90 minutes. Tara Gotthardt had a career-best nine saves in the contest.
CATCH THE USF GAME ON TV
The 49ers double-shutout with USF will be aired on Comcast Cable Channel 3 in Long Beach and Signal Hill on Saturday, September 4 at 5 p.m. That match is the second of five on television this season. The team's opener was aired last Saturday, with the team's Big West contests against Pacific (October 8), CS Northridge (October 10) and UC Riverside (October 31) also scheduled to be televised.
WIEGAND MOVES INTO FOURTH
Allison Wiegand's (Modesto) first goal of the season also moved her into fourth place all-time for career goals (15) and points (36). The senior utility player has already tied Abie Curry's modern-day record for points, and will catch Curry's goal record with her next net-finder. Wiegand's six career assists is ninth all-time, three away from the top-five.
CORNERING THE MARKET
The 49ers have already taken 16 corner kicks this season, just over double the amount on average the team took last year, when LBSU finished with 70.
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.
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).
GOALIES SPLIT TIME
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. Hartwyk made two saves on Friday, while Gotthardt had nine saves against USF.
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.
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), from a dislocated fibula, 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).
FRESHMEN EXCEL EARLY
Two freshmen have made an early impact in midfielders Hilary Goldberg (Woodbridge) and Kelli Goes (Manteca). Goldberg, who scored the only goal of the team's scrimmage with Biola and has started both regular season contest, was a two-time All-San Joaquin Conference performer. Goes was a three-time all-league prep selection. |
