49ers to Play Final Road Match of the Regular Season
LBSU Travels to Surprising UC Irvine for Matchup on Friday
October 23, 2007 PDF VERSION OF THE RELEASE HERE 49ERS TAKE TO THE 405 TO PLAY AT UC IRVINE
The first place 49ers (11-5-0, 4-1-0 Big West), winners of nine of their last 11, will head into the final two weeks of the regular season by playing their final road match this Friday, and final two home matches next weekend. First, LBSU will travel to UC Irvine (9-5-1, 3-1-0) in a key top of the conference battle on Friday at 7 p.m. The two programs, connected by the 405 Freeway, rank first and second in the Big West in points, goals and goals against average. UCI has currently won three straight after being picked to finish last in the Big West Conference. The match is also a part of the Black and Blue Rivalry Series, between the two athletic programs, which the 49ers have won in each of the last two years. LBSU has remained a top of the Big West standings for eight straight weeks, dating back to the beginning of last year's conference season.
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
UC Irvine, after being picked to finish last, has won three straight (UCSB, at Pacific and at UC Davis)... its only conference loss was to Cal Poly at home 1-0 to open up conference play... the Anteaters enter the weekend at 9-5-1 and 3-1-0 in the Big West for first year Head Coach Scott Juniper... the balanced scoring attack features three players with five goals a piece (sophomore midfielder Katie Berrini, senior midfielder Frankee Kelly and freshman forward Tanya Taylor), while freshman goalkeeper Danielle de Seriere leads the Big West with a 0.67 goals against average... four of UCI's five losses are by a single goal, including one in overtime (No. 25 San Diego). WHAT'S KICKING NEXT
The 49ers close out the regular season by hosting Central Coast foes UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly prior to the Big West Tournament. The matchup is setting up to be a battle for first place.
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 43-24-7 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.
READY TO BREAK A RECORD
The team's 32 goals this season has tied the school-record set during the program's first year in 1998 and tied in 2006. LBSU has already had three, five-goal matches this season (after having just four in their history) and continue to lead the Big West in scoring, averaging two goals per game.
LIKING IT AT THE TOP
The Big West Champions from a year ago, with a 4-1-0 conference record this season, have spent the last eight-straight weeks either tied or been outright in front in the Big West standings. LBSU is 9-2-1 over two seasons in conference matches and 12-5-2 since 2005.
PICKED TO WIN IT AGAIN
The 49ers, who were 5-1-1 in conference play in 2006, 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).
DEMOCRATIC SCORING
This season LBSU has had four players score at least four goals a piece led by Kristen Kiefer and Kim Silos, who each have six a piece. Twelve players in total have scored at least one goal.
ROAD WARRIORS
The 49ers have played nine of their 10 regular season matches already, to mixed results. LBSU dropped consecutive one-goal decisions to three-straight top-25 teams (No. 24 Wake Forest, No. 20 Clemson and No. 24 BYU) from September 5 to 11 and scored five goals against three different opponents (CS Bakersfield, Middle Tennessee and North Texas). They opened up conference with three-straight road wins (Pacific, UC Davis and CS Northridge) with a less than full roster, due to injury.
BALANCED ATTACK
The 49ers have scored seven goals in conference play with a goal a piece coming from seven different players. Overall, five players have scored at least three goals, led by six a piece by junior forward Kim Silos (Ontario) and freshman forward Kristen Kiefer (Mission Viejo).
MAKE IT EIGHT WINNERS
Over the past two seasons, it was nearly automatic that either Hayley Bolt or Kim Silos was going to take the final shot (a combined 21 game-winners between them). This year LBSU has had eight different players score game-winners, led by two a piece by Silos, Bolt and Dana Farquhar.
DOUBLE DIGITS IN THE CARDS, AGAIN
For the third-straight year, LBSU has reached double digits in wins, a program first. The 49ers have set the school-record for wins in each of the last two seasons, going 12-5-3 in 2005 and 14-5-1 in 2006. They are three wins away from last year's record and one conference win from the record they set last year (5-1-1).
GETTING HEALTHIER
Formerly the Big West's leading scorer, freshman Kristen Kiefer, returned from an ankle injury that knocked her out of two matches since the Big West opener at Pacific. Kiefer came off the bench twice. Two other defenders, Tiffany Vaught (leg), who has played in seven matches and Grace Shevlin (ankle) continue to get healthy.
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.
|
