No. 23-ranked 49ers Head to Flagstaff for Two
Beach Take on Texas State and TN-Martin Looking For Best Start Ever
September 12, 2006 PDF VERSION OF THE RELEASE WELCOME TO THE LAND OF THE SUN
The No. 23-ranked 49ers (5-1-0) will continue its seven-match road trip this week when they travel to Northern Arizona's High Altitude Classic to face off against Texas State (1-4-0) on Friday at 4 p.m. and Tennessee-Martin (2-3-1) on Sunday at 10 a.m. The 49ers have begun the season on the road, playing nine of their first 10 away from George Allen Field. LBSU is also on the verge of the best start in school-history with two more wins this weekend. LBSU already has five shutouts this season, ranking 13th nationally in goals against average (0.17).
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Texas State enters the weekend at 1-4-0 allowing nearly four goals per game on the season... the Bobcats are coming off two losses last week at a tournament in El Paso, losing to Western Carolina and UTEP by a combined 7-1 margin... the team returns seven starters from a team that went 9-10-0 last year... Tennessee-Martin have gone undefeated over its last three matches (2-0-1), having won their last two by a single goal... junior midfielder Katie Behrens has scored all three of her goals over the last two contests... the Skyhawks have allowed 12 of their opponent's 19 goals in the second half... freshman keeper Cara Sullivan has a 2.20 goals against average.
RANK AND FILE
The 49ers moved up to their highest rankings of all-time on September 11 when they were ranked No. 23 in Soccer Buzz's national poll. They have remained No. 7 regionally for the past three weeks. They began the season No. 28 in Soccer Buzz and No. 9 regionally. They appeared in the top-25 in Soccer America and Soccer Buzz for the first time in franchise history for one week in 2005.
MEET THE HEAD COACH
In a short time, Mauricio Ingrassia has put Long Beach State soccer on the map. Over two-plus seasons LBSU has gone 23-15-6, posting its best season in 2005 (12-5-3). This year should be one of the program's finest. Ingrassia has twice had nationally ranked recruiting classes and has brought in five top-100 recruits over the past two seasons. Ingrassia came from nearby Long Beach City College in 2004, after going 184-24-8 (.870) and winning five state and two national titles over nine seasons. Two of his former players, senior defender Jenna Duncan and junior forward Kristin Childers, the 2004 JC State Player of the Year, are currently on the team.
49ERS TAKE ANOTHER TITLE
Long Beach State won its fourth in-season tournament title this past weekend for Head Coach Mauricio Ingrassia, defeating Utah State 2-0 and host USF 1-0. LBSU outshot the Aggies, 17-to-4, holding USU without a shot in the second half, while a game-winning goal from Sarah Strohl in the 84th minute led to the championship win on Sunday.
BEST START SINCE, WELL, LAST YEAR
The 49ers, after a record-breaking 12-5-3 mark in 2005 are off to just as fast of a start in 2006. The team's 5-1-0 start is just behind the team's pace from last year, when it started the season 7-1-1. If the team sweeps through this next weekend, the 7-1-0 start would be the best of all-time.
THROWING UP BLANKS
With five shutouts already this season, LBSU is nearly halfway to its record of 11 set last season. The 49ers have allowed just one goal all season, in the second half at No. 5-ranked UCLA, posting a 0.17 goals against average. That average ranks 13th nationally, the first time LBSU has been ranked nationally for their defensive abilities. Dating back to October 18, 2005 The Beach have allowed just four goals over their last 10 matches.
HARD TO PUNCH ONE THROUGH
Forty-Niner goalkeeper Liz Ramos (Bakersfield) and the backline of seniors Natalie Messina (Santa Rosa) and Jenna Duncan (Long Beach) and sophomore Julie Megorden (Los Alamitos) and recently Sara Baca (Ventura), have combined for 16 shutouts over their last 26 matches. Ramos already has the career record for shutouts with 15. Ramos 4.5 shutouts this year is just one shutout away from second all-time, after the sophomore set the standard with 10.5 in 2005.
BOLT HITS DOUBLE DIGITS
Sophomore midfielder Hayley Bolt (Los Alamitos) became just the second modern player (post 1998) to score 10 goals over a two-year span, as the former Big West Freshman joined Kim Silos on the list. Bolt leads the club with three goals this season.
SILOS FINDS THE TOUCH
Sophomore Kim Silos (Ontario), after leading the team in scoring last season, now finds herself as the team leader in assists. The freshman All-American has a team-best three assists this year, including the game-winning assist last week in the 84th minute of the City by the Bay Classic on Sunday.
FRESHMEN SCORE WINNERS
This past weekend the 49er freshmen got into the act, as Yeraldy Hurtado (Ventura) won the match on Friday with a score in the 34th minute and Sarah Strohl (San Diego) headed the game-winner on Sunday.
NSCAA GAME OF THE WEEK
Long Beach State will be part of the national NSCAA Game of the Week on Fox Soccer Channel when they play at CS Fullerton on October 25 at 5 p.m. Throughout the season, FSC will broadcast a men's and women's college game of the week.
RPI REPORTS TO BE RELEASED
This season the NCAA through its website, www.ncaasports.com, will release RPIs of its members on October 6 and November 3. The 49ers upgraded their schedule after just missing out on the NCAA Tournament in 2005.
BEACH PICKED TO WIN BIG WEST
For the first time in school-history the 49ers are picked to win the eight-team Big West Conference. The 49ers received three first place votes, as for the second-straight year the team has achieved the conference's best recruiting class.
ADDING TO THE CORE
Adding to the 15th-best recruiting class in the nation in 2005, the 49ers backed that up with its fifth top-100 recruit in the past two years (top-50 pick Yeraldy Hurtado) and the 39th-best class in the country. LBSU has twice had the best recruiting class in the Big West. Last year's class featured eight freshmen in the starting lineup.
STILL YOUNG, BUT DEEPER
This year's squad is still relatively young, checking in with 14 underclassmen, but it is much deeper and experienced than last year. According to Head Coach Mauricio Ingrassia, the team's fitness has been the best he's seen in his three years. Following a record 12-3-3 start in 2005, the 49ers went 0-2-2 down the stretch, something his team will only benefit from in 2006. The team did not score a goal after October 21, a span of 414 minutes heading into the season.
NEARLY PERFECT AT HOME
The 49ers won their first nine matches at home in 2005 en route to a record 9-1-0 record, set in 2003, when the team went 6-3-0. Both of the franchise's wins over ranked opponents have come at home, in 2002 against No. 25 CS Fullerton and on October 7, 2005 when they defeated No. 20 Cal Poly. LBSU also produced the two biggest crowds in school-history in 2005, a record 961 versus CS Fullerton to close out the season and 632 vs. UC Santa Barbara. Six-hundred and twenty saw the team open the season against Southern Utah. |
