THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE
LBSU Host Idaho, UC Davis, at UC Irvine | LONG BEACH STATE 49ERS
RECORD: 10-3-1, 3-1-0 Big West
Quick Kicks: Perfect at home and two wins away from tying the school-record for wins (12), LBSU will play three times this week, twice at home on Tuesday and Friday, and then at UC Irvine on Sunday to close out the week.
| | IDAHO
Tuesday, George Allen Field, 3 p.m.
RECORD: 2-13-0, 0-4-0 WAC
Quick Kicks: The Vandals, currently on an 11-game losing streak, can tie the school record with one more loss... LBSU will be the first Big West member Idaho will face this year, as the team has been outscored 28-to-8 on the season... Jenny Springer has four of those goals.
SERIES VS. LBSU: LBSU leads the all-time series 3-2-2, having lost 3-1 in Moscow last year... the 49ers are 3-0-1 at home against the Vandals.
UC DAVIS
Friday, George Allen Field, 3 p.m.
RECORD: 4-7-3
Quick Kicks: If the Aggies, eligible for Big West play in 2007-08, played a Big West schedule so far, they would be 1-3-0 with losses to UCSB, Cal Poly and UC Irvine... they edged CS Northridge in their last contest on October 16... Megan Wall leads the club with four goals, while Krystyn Lizak has a 1.22 goals against average.
SERIES VS. LBSU: The 49ers are 0-1 against UC Davis, having last played in 1984.
UC IRVINE
Sunday in Irvine, 1 p.m.
RECORD: 4-11-1, 0-4-0 Big West
Quick Kicks: UCI has picked up three wins over the last seven games, defeating UNLV, South Dakota State and UC Davis... Marine Cano has announced his retirement after 12 years at UCI... Megan Ortiz leads the club with four goals.
SERIES VS. LBSU: UCI leads the all-time series 5-4-2, with LBSU winning the last meeting 3-1. |
PDF File of the Release
WELL RESTED NINERS
The No. 25-ranked 49ers (10-3-1, 3-1-0 Big West), boasting its first national ranking in school-history, will return to action following a nine-day layoff when they host former Big West foe Idaho (2-13-0) on Tuesday at 3 p.m. and future conference member, UC Davis (4-7-3), on Friday at 3 p.m. The 49ers play at UC Irvine (4-11-1, 0-4-0 Big West) on Sunday at 1 p.m. LBSU is coming off arguably its best weekend in school-history on October 7 and 9, when they defeated No. 20 Cal Poly 4-2 and cruised by UC Santa Barbara 3-1.
CRACKING THE TOP-25
The 49ers cracked the top-25 for the first time in school-history last week, ranking No. 25 in Soccer America. LBSU, who had been on the outer half of the West Regional rankings for the latter three weeks, have also achieved their highest regional rankings in the NSCAA (10th) and Soccerbuzz.com (13th).
FARQUHAR EARNS NATIONAL HONOR
For the second time this season, and for the second time in school-history, the 49ers placed a player on Soccer America and Soccerbuzz.com's National Teams of the Week. Freshman Dana Farquhar (Redlands) was named to the 11-person team following two goals in the upset of No. 20 Cal Poly and the game-winning assist against UC Santa Barbara. Farquhar and Kim Silos (September 26) also each earned Big West Player of the Week honors as well, during their week amongst the nation's best. Farquhar ranks amongst the Big West leaders in assists (4) and those two goals were her first of the year.
WIN RECORD READY TO FALL
Long Beach State, which hosted a soccer team for four seasons in the mid-1980's (1983-86), will watch a 20-year old record fall if and when the 49ers pick up three more wins over their last five regular season games. Both the 1984 and 1985 teams had 12 wins a piece, while the 2003 team previously held the modern day record for wins with nine (9-9-0).
PERFECT AT HOME
The 49ers are a perfect 7-0-0 at home setting the record for home triumphs, set in 2003, when the team won four in a row en route to a 6-3-0 record. Both of the franchise's wins over ranked opponents have come at home, in 2002 against No. 25 CS Fullerton and on October 7 when they defeated No. 20 Cal Poly. The 49ers have three home games remaining, including the season finale against the Titans on October 30.
SCRATCHING VINYL SOME MORE
The 49ers enter the week having tied their school-record for shutouts (7) and are on the verge of topping the seven-year old record for goals (32) and assists (27) in a season. LBSU enters the week with 24 goals and 22 assists.
POST-SEASON PICTURE
With the top four teams gaining admission into the Big West Tournament (and a berth into the NCAAs), most likely at the host of the Big West Champion, the current post-season picture looks like this: UC Riverside has guaranteed themselves a spot with 13 points (4-0-1), CS Fullerton is second with 12 points (4-1-0), while the 49ers after a week's break, are third with nine points (3-1-0). CS Northridge (2-3-0) and Pacific (2-3-0) are clusterd with Cal Poly (1-2-1) with six and four points, respectively. UCSB (1-3-0) with three points and winless UC Irvine (0-4-0) round out the field. Three points are award for each win and one point for a tie. Each team plays seven games.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR MATERIAL?
Freshman Hayley Bolt (Lakewood) has positioned herself amongst the league leaders in the Big West, and may garner enough attention to be the Big West's Player of the Year. Bolt's seven goals, 20 points and six assists all rank amongst the conference leaders. Bolt also has four game-winning goals and three game-winning assists.
DUO READY TO RE-WRITE
Freshmen midfielders Hayley Bolt (Lakewood) and Kim Silos (Ontario) could both re-write the record books for a single-season, as the duo enters the week with seven goals a piece. Kelli Barrett holds the modern day record with eight, set in 1998, while Bolt's six assists has tied Barrett. Silos could also pass Barrett, as she enters the week with four passes. Bolt (4) and Silos (3) are also closing in on Allison Wiegand's all-time record for game-winners of five, set from 2001 to 2004.
RAMOS KEEPS TICKING
Freshman Liz Ramos (Bakersfield), who carries a a record 6.5 shutouts into the week, continues to lead the Big West with an 0.60 goals against average. The 49er defense has allowed just five goals after the intermission, which has resulted, in part, to six wins, when the team is either tied or trailing at halftime.
SILOS GAINS NATIONAL HONOR
Freshman Kim Silos (Ontario) was named to Soccerbuzz.com and Soccer America's Teams of the Week following two game-winning goals in overtime in late September. Silos was the school's first national honoree and was the team's first Big West Player of the Week of the season on September 26.
BLECHEL OUT FOR SEASON
The 49ers got even younger when the training room reported that senior midfielder MacKenzie Blechel (Forestville) will be lost for the season due to a right knee injury. Blechel has played in 54 games in her career. That leaves just one senior, goalie Meghan Hartwyk, on the roster.
15TH BEST RECRUITING CLASS
With upwards of eight freshmen starters, the 15th best recruiting class in the country, and fourth-best in the West has paid dividends. This is the first time LBSU has ever had a recruiting class ranked, and its also a first for soccerbuz.com to have a recruiting class ranked in the top-25, without first having a top-100 class. Kim Silos (Ontario) and Sara Baca (Ventura) are top-50 recruits, while Sahar Haghdan (Palmdale) and Hayley Bolt (Lakewood) are top-100 recruits, also firsts for the program. All told of the nine letters of intent, four are former CIF Players of the Year, seven are CalSouth Olympic Development Players, and five are West Regional ODP players.
PRE-SEASON MOMENTUM
For the first time in school-history the 49ers received a first place vote in the pre-season coaches poll, and are picked to finish tied for third in the Big West, its highest pre-season prediction. Cal Poly were slated to win, followed by CS Fullerton and LBSU and UCSB. The team's 6-9-3 overall record and 1-6-2 Big West finish is well in the rearview mirror.
STRONG SCHEDULE FOR 2005
The 49ers significantly upgraded its schedule for the 2005 season, as the docket features four teams who have been nationally ranked (UCLA, USC, Cal Poly, CS Fullerton) and 10 teams picked to finish in the top four of their respective conferences. LBSU has already beaten two NCAA Tournament teams (Weber State, Cal Poly) and tied another (UNLV). |
