Long Beach State University Athletics
Messina is a Pressence
9/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | General
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Messina an Active Pressence When Mauricio Ingrassia, not to be confused with Julio Iglesias - Julio sings better but Mauricio possesses far greater artistry on the pitch - came to Long Beach State in 2004, he did so amid great fanfare and expectation. After all, during his nine seasons as field commander of the women's soccer team at Long Beach City College, he posted a 184-24-8 record, won five state titles and two national championships. He took over a 49er club that hadn't had a winning season since women's soccer was resumed at the school in 1998, and he struggled his first season when his troops went 6-9-1. But he consummated two moves that season that would have a long-term impact on his program. First, he made a sophomore named Natalie Messina a team captain, assessing the feisty defender from Santa Rosa as a leader type who could assist in the inevitable conflicts endemic to a coaching change. And then he also gave Ms. Messina a full-ride scholarship, which inspired her to perform beyond the call of duty last year when she helped the 49ers to a 12-5-2 record despite having to play with a torn labrum in her hip and torn cartilage in her knee that resulted in two off-season surgeries. Indeed, Mauricio Ingrassia wasn't even sure Messina, a fifth-year senior - she was forced to redshirt in 2003 after suffering a leg injury in the second match - would return this season after having to spend more than six months undergoing strenuous rehabilitation, but, oh, is he thrilled that she did. You see, Natalie Messina once again has been an active presence in the 49ers' back line defense, as the highest-rated team in school history - it's now 21st ranked - has posted five shutouts on the way to a 7-1 record. "We've come a long ways the past couple of years to the point where we think we can compete with anyone," says Messina, whose team earlier in the season held No. 3 rated UCLA scoreless for 82 minutes before dropping a 1-0 decision. "There was a bit of a change when Mauricio first arrived here - a change for the better. We weren't winning and there was some resentment and conflicting personalities. A lot of people the following spring quit the team. Mauricio has a certain way of doing things - as all successful coaches do - and some people just couldn't handle it. But he brought in a lot of talented new recruits, and we started to win. And now everyone buys in to Mauricio's way." "We tried to raise the bar when we first got here and some people resisted," says Ingrassia. "I had a gut feeling about Natalie, and I felt we could build around her. I knew she was an especially tough kid and fierce competitor, the kind of player I want to have on my team. "It's pretty amazing the way she's been playing considering all the adversity she's had to overcome. I was afraid she wasn't going to come back this season because of what she had to go through. I'm sure glad she did." No doubt Natalie Messina is tough. She not only had to survive getting struck by a car while riding her bicycle on campus when she was a freshman - the bike was totaled but she somehow emerged unscathed - as well as all her injuries, but she also had to survive the taunts of classmates as a youngster. You see, she was born Natalie Muck and endured ridicule from other kids because of her surname. "My older sister and I took a lot of kidding, and, finally, my dad one day gathered the family and informed us he was going to change our last name," relates Messina. "He was a fan of Loggins and Messina, and so that's how he came up with Messina." Natalie Messina resides with her older sister, Anna, now a Long Beach State student, and teammate Rachel Whiteaker in a Belmont Shores apartment, with her father, Jerry Messina, who works at Trader Joe's, living nearby. "My dad tries to attend all of our games," says Messina, whose mother, Robin Burgert, an artist, still resides in Santa Rosa. Jerry Messina has been observing a 49er team that has yielded only two goals the entire season. "We're not easy to score against and a lot of credit has to go to Natalie," says Ingrassia. A lot of credit also has to go to Mauricio Ingrassia himself. Nine freshmen started on last season's team, and both of his recruiting classes have ranked among the top 50 of the more than 300 Division I schools that compete in women's soccer in the country. In addition to Messina, other standouts for the 49ers this season have been Sara Baca, Hayley Bolt, Sahar Haghdan, Kim Silos, Jenna Duncan, Liz Ramos and Julie Megorden. "I definitely think we're capable of making it to the NCAA tournament," says Messina, whose team opens Big West play on Sept. 29 when its will host Pacific. "We showed against UCLA we're capable of competing with the best." Natalie Messina is a psychology major who plans to enter graduate school at Long Beach, and eventually would like to be a high school counselor. Soccer engulfs her life, as it has for most of it, but in her spare moments she enjoys music - she walks the campus listening to her favorite tunes on her iPod - and reading. "I like to read everything - except a textbook," she giggles. The perky 22-year-old, 5-6 bundle of energy is having a blast her final season with the 49ers. "When you keep a team from scoring, you usually have a good chance of winning," says a person skilled at doing just that. "And we're tough to score against. It's great that we're winning and it's great that I'm finally healthy. It's been a fun season for me so far. |
