49ers Begin Conference Play up North
Defending Champions Begin Play at Pacific and at UC Davis
October 2, 2007 PDF VERSION OF THE RELEASE CONFERENCE BEGINS IN STATE'S CAPITAL, OR THERE ABOUTS
The defending Big West Champions, Long Beach State (7-4-0, 0-0-0 Big West), will open up conference play this weekend when they play at Pacific (5-3-2, 0-0-0 Big West) on Friday at 7 p.m. and at UC Davis (4-5-0, 0-1-0 Big West) on Sunday at noon. Pacific and the 49ers are two of the oldest members of the conference, while UCD is the newest, joining the ranks this season. LBSU is 8-4-2 against the league over the last two seasons. The 49ers enter conference play having won five of their last six, as all four of the team's losses this year are to top-25 programs. In fact, Wake Forest, Clemson, USC and BYU are now all ranked in the top-20, with the Demon Deacons and Tigers being ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the Southeast region. The 49ers are three wins away from their third-straight double digit season. COMING UP THIS WEEK
Friday
at Pacific 7 p.m.
Sunday
at UC Davis 12 p.m.
WHERE THEY RANK
Pts Gls GAA
LB: 1st 1st 2nd
UOP: 5th 5th 1st
UCD: 6th 6th 8th
WHAT'S KICKING NEXT
The 49ers have a light week following the opening conference weekend, playing at CS Northridge on October 14. They return home to George Allen Field on October 19 and 21 to host CS Fullerton and UC Riverside.
BIG WEST OPENERS/SERIES
LBSU, which won the program's first conference title last year, is 5-4 in conference openers, winning the last two against Pacific; 1-0 in Stockton in 2005 and 2-0 at home in 2006. In the match in Stockton, then-freshman Hayley Bolt, scored the game-winner, broke her wrist and missed the next match at CS Northridge. LBSU has not allowed a goal to the Tigers since a 2-1 loss at Pacific in 2003. The 49ers are 1-2-0 against the Aggies all-time, losing last year in overtime 2-1 and defeating UCD at home 3-0 in 2005.
PICKED TO WIN IT AGAIN
The 49ers, who were 5-1-1 in conference play, received five of the nine first place votes and 77 points overall in the pre-season coaches poll. Cal Poly, which upset the 49ers in the first round of the Big West Tournament in Long Beach, and UC Santa Barbara, also a Big West Tournament team, were picked to finish second with 63 points (two first place votes). Looking at the mid-season report, Cal Poly is 1-7-1 on the season, while CS Fullerton (6-3-1), UC Irvine (5-3-1), UC Riverside (6-4-0) and Pacific (5-3-2), along with the 49ers (7-4-0), all have winning records heading into conference play.
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
Pacific enters the week at 5-3-2 and 4-1-1 at home this season... they are coming off a 2-1 loss to No. 22 San Diego on September 30 after tying UNLV 0-0... wins have come against Mount St. Mary's, Kent State, Tennessee-Marting, Valaparaiso and CS Bakersfield, while they have lost at Portland State and then at No. 16 BYU, each 1-0... UOP leads the confernece in goals against average as Jaime Souza has played every minute in goal, producing an 0.57 goals against average... Bunny Dickson is amongst Big West leaders in goals (5), while freshman Sammi Teramae is amongst leaders in assists (5)... UC Davis has lost three straight heading into the weekend, droping a 2-1 decision at Portland State and home matches to CS Fullerton (2-0) and Nevada (4-1)... two of the team's wins are in overtime to Fresno State (1-0) and Sacramento State (3-2)... Dayan Dumont has five goals and 11 points to lead the Aggies, while Sarah Peters has a 1.40 goals against average, as UC Davis ranks in the middle of the Big West pack in offense and near the bottom in defense.
AT THE HELM
The 49ers quick emergence as a regional and national threat has come at the hands and feet of Head Coach Mauricio Ingrassia. Ingrassia, who has gone 39-23-7 over three-plus seasons, has brought in three top-40 recruiting classes, including the 15th-best class in the nation in 2005. That class, now juniors, is the core of this year's team. Ingrassia previously won five state titles at nearby Long Beach City College, the most of any California coach. He finished his LBCC career winning the last 55 in a row.
IN THE TOP-25
Prior to Mauricio Ingrassia's arrival, the 49ers were never in the regional polls, let alone the national polls. This year's team for the second straight year was ranked in the top-30 to start the year, ranking a pre-season high of No. 25 in Soccer Buzz' annual poll. The 49ers were as high as No. 21 last season. The team's No. 8 regional ranking was one spot away from the program's best mark, set last year.
HAGHDAN RETURNS WITH FLURRY
All-Big West pick Sahar Haghdan (Palmdale), who had played just 137 minutes all season, started for the first time on Sunday against Wyoming and assisted on both goals for the 49ers. Haghdan had missed the first four games due to injury and had slowly returned to the fold. She replaced forward Kim Silos, who missed the game with a sore ankle, and is day-to-day.
BIG GAME SILOS
Forward Kim Silos (Ontario) has tallied a record 11 game-winning goals this season, including one this season. Silos enters the frey first on the team in goals (5) and assists (6). With 24 career goals, she is nine goals away from the school record.
ROOKIES STEP UP
The 49ers deepest team in recent memory has been helped considerably by its freshmen class, ranked 27th nationally. Freshman Kristen Kiefer enters conference play as a contender for Big West Freshman of the Year with five goals, while Caroline and Grace Shevlin and Tara Corcoran have started most of the season in the backfield. Lindsay Bullock has started all 11 games at midfield.
A BOLT IS COMING
After a slow start, midfielder Hayley Bolt (Lakewood) may be starting to heat up. Bolt is third on the team with four goals and 10 points, scoring in three of the last four contests. Bolt last year was named the Big West's Midfielder of the Year.
SCORCHING THE NETS
The 49ers lead the Big West in scoring, after 2.2 goals per game, as they are closing in on the all-time record for goals score (32 in 1998 and 2006). They have scored five or more goals three times, one less than they had in school-history.
RECORD CROWDS
The team's match against the Women of Troy brought out a record 1204 fans on September 28. Prior to that match, an LBSU soccer match had never drawn more than 1000 fans. The last two years have seen some of the highest attendance numbers in school-history.
MEGORDEN OUT FOR THE SEASON
Starting defender Julie Megorden (Los Alamitos) is out for the season after suffering a knee injury against Oklahoma on September 14. Megorden had 43 career caps to her credit.
RECORD BREAKING COUPLE OF YEARS
The 49ers have had the two best seasons in school history, going 12-5-3 in 2005 and 14-5-1 in 2006. Both times they broke the school record for victories and shutouts, as the team has produced 26 scoreless contests over two-plus seasons. They just missed the NCAA Tournament in 2006 after winning the Big West's regular season title.
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