49ers Open Up Big West Play on the Central Coast
Seven-Match Road Trip Comes to a Close This Week
September 29, 2004 PDF Version of the Release LONG BEACH STATE 49ERS
RECORD: 5-3-1, 0-0-0 Big West
Quick Kicks: The 49ers head into conference play having won two pre-season tournaments... LBSU has posted five shutouts already this year, one away from tying the school-record.
UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS
RECORD: 5-4-1, 0-0-0 Big West
Quick Kicks: UCSB has gone 4-1-1 over its last six, tying San Diego State 0-0 and defeating No. 18-ranked Arizona State 3-0 last weekend... former Big West Player of the Year and senior forward Jennifer Borcich leads the club with six goals and four assists... sophomore forward Allie Kueny has three goals and three assists... sophomore forward Chandi Bickford has five assists.. goalie Catherine Burson has a 0.93 goals against average... three of its losses have come by a single goal... the Gauchos were picked to finish second in the Big West according to pre-season polls.... Paul Stumpf is in his sixth year.
SERIES VS. LBSU: UCSB leads 8-4-0, but The Beach have won four of six since 1998 including last year, 1-0 in Long Beach.
CAL POLY MUSTANGS
RECORD: 4-1-3, 0-0-0 Big West
Quick Kicks: Cal Poly host UC Irvine on Friday... last week they tied San Diego (0-0) and defeated Sacramento State (2-0)... Sharon Day has six goals to lead the club, scoring half of the team's 12 goals... Liz Hill has a 0.75 goals against average... Cal Poly has scored just three goals over the last five contests, going 2-1-2... the Mustangs earlier this season were ranked in the top-25, but have since dropped out, but are still ranked in the West Region... Cal Poly was picked to win the Big West... Paul Crozier is the defending Big West Coach of the Year and is in his 13th year.
SERIES VS. LBSU: Cal Poly leads 4-1-1 having won the last two. The only 49er win came in 2000. BIG WEST PLAY STARTS
Long Beach State (5-3-1, 0-0-0 Big West) will open up conference play this weekend when they travel to UC Santa Barbara (5-4-1, 0-0-0 Big West) on Friday at 7 p.m. and to defending champion, Cal Poly (4-1-3, 0-0-0 Big West), on Sunday at 11 a.m. The Beach enter Big West play with it's best non-conference start in school-history, having won their second tournament of the season this past weekend at Creighton. Last year the 49ers finished tied for fourth place and just missed out on the Big West Tournament, going 5-4-0.
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.
MESSINA NAMED BIG WEST'S BEST
Natalie Messina (Santa Rosa) added to her growing list of season accolades by being named Big West Player of the Week on September 27. This past weekend, Messina earned her second tournament MVP honors of the season at the Bluejay Classic. Messina helped the defense post back-to-back shutouts and scored the game-winner in the 95th minute.
LAST WEEK
The 49ers won their second tournament of the season behind a strong defensive line which posted shutout South Dakota State (3-0) and host Creighton (1-0). On Friday, Allison Wiegand and Kristin Travis both tallied a goal and an assist in snapping the 49ers three-match losing streak. The backline held the Jackrabbits without a shot for the first 55 minutes and just five for the match. LBSU took a single-match record 34 shots, firing 18 on goal. On Sunday, Natalie Messina scored on a set play and free kick in the 95th minute to give LBSU the title. Wiegand set the ball in motion by tapping the ball forward, before Messina fired it home from 25 yards out. Creighton suffered just its second home loss since 2002 as it was also the first overtime loss in 14 tries for the Bluejays.
FOUR NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT
Four 49ers were named All-Bluejay Classic this past weekend, paced by tournament MVP Natalie Messina (Santa Rosa). Kristin Travis (Davis) and Tara Gotthardt (Pleasanton) each earned their second all-tournament honors in 2004. Senior Allison Wiegand (Modesto) earned her first all-tournament honor of the year.
WIEGAND AMONGST THE BEST
Senior Allison Wiegand's (Modesto) flurry of activity in Omaha (one goal, two assists) moved the team's most versatile player ever higher on the all-time charts. Wiegand's 16 career goals ties her with Abie Curry for the modern day record (third all-time), while her 40 points is now third-best all-time. Wiegand is tied with teammate Kristin Travis with eight career assists, sixth-best all-time. Wiegand has two goals and two assists this year.
TRAVIS MOVING ON UP
Senior forward Kristin Travis (Davis) continues to climb the charts as well, moving into ninth place all-time in career goals (9) and is now tied for sixth in career assists (8). Her 26 career points is eighth. Travis has two goals and three assists this year.
GOTTHARDT STOPS ‘EM IN THEIR TRACKS
Sophomore goalie Tara Gotthardt (Pleasanton) posted her third and fourth shutouts of the season this past weekend, lowering her goals against average to 1.07 on the season. Gotthardt has 34 saves this year, twice tallying a career-best nine.
HOME IS ON THE HORIZON
The team's month-long roadtrip will finally come to an end next weekend when the 49ers return home to host Pacific on Friday, October 8 and CS Northridge on October 10. When it is all said and done, LBSU will have traveled over 5700 miles, which has spanned seven matches. The Beach last played at George Allen Field on September 3.
NOTHING BUT ZEROES
The 49ers have posted five shutouts this season, one away from tying the school-record set numerous times. The team's three-straight shutouts earlier this year already set a school-record for consecutive shutouts. In fact in eight of the team's nine matches in 2004, someone has had posted a shutout. Sacramento State is the only match that both teams has scored, while USF is the only match, both teams have gone nil-nil.
QUARESMA SEES FIRST ACTION
Freshman Katelyn Quaresma (Manteca) made her collegiate debut two weeks ago at San Diego and has played in every match since then, starting against Creighton. Quaresma is a former league MVP out of Sierra High School, who scored 40 goals during her senior season.
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
BEACH RETURN INTACT FOR 2004
The Beach will return 17 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).
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) was honorable mention All-BWC at midfield in 2003.
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.
SOLID BACKLINE
Last year the 49er defense set records for the least amount of shots allowed (225) and goals allowed (22). |
