Busy Stretch Drive for the Conference Title Awaits
49ers Play at UCI, and Host Cal Poly and UCSB to Close Out Regular Season
October 29, 2007 PDF VERSION OF THE RELEASE THREE MATCHES FOR THE STRETCH RUN
The Southern California fires suspended one of the team's contests, forcing the 49ers (11-5-0, 4-1-0 Big West) to play three times in six days to end the regular season. The 49ers will start at UC Irvine (9-5-2, 3-1-1 Big West) on Tuesday at 7 p.m., in a game moved back five days, before hosting first place Cal Poly (7-8-1, 5-1-1 Big West) on Friday at 2 p.m. and UC Santa Barbara (6-8-4, 3-2-1 Big West) on Sunday at noon. The 49ers have won nine of their last 11 heading, as they try to win back-to-back regular season titles. The match with the Anteaters will also be a part of the Black and Blue Rivalry Series between the two athletic programs, which LBSU Athletics has won in each of the last two years.
THE BIG WEST RACE TO THE FINISH
Entering the week, LBSU with 12 points is in third place behind Cal Poly (5-1-0) and CS Fullerton (5-2-0), with 15 points a piece. The Titans have one match remaining, Cal Poly two. UC Irvine (3-1-1) and UC Santa Barbara (3-2-1) with 10 points a piece and UC Riverside (2-4-1, 7 points) are also in the mix. No team, as of yet, has secured a berth in the four-team tournament next weekend.
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
UC Irvine, after being picked to finish last, has won three straight (UCSB, at Pacific and at UC Davis and tied CS Northridge)... its only conference loss was to Cal Poly at home 1-0 to open up conference play... the Anteaters enter the week with a chance at the playoffs 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)... Cal Poly enters the weekend on a six-match winning streak, moving into first place with three-straight 1-0 victories over UCSB, UC Davis and Pacific... the win streak is the third longest in program history... the Mustangs last lost on October 5 versus UC Riverside, their only conference loss of the year... Alli Tramel has a 1.07 goals against average, as Cal Poly is last in the Big West in scoring scoring just 13 goals all season led by three by Sharon Day... the Gauchos are 6-8-4 and 3-2-1 in the Big West having gone 1-3-2 over their last six contests... Kailyn Kugler leads the club with 14 points, while Michelle Russell has eight points... Katie Wright has a 0.89 goals against average in goal... UCSB is just 1-5-2 away from Santa Barbara this season.
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
Prior to this week, where the idle 49ers were hopscotched in the standings, the Big West Champions from a year ago spent 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.
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 saw her miss three conference matches. Two other defenders, Tiffany Vaught (leg), who has played in seven matches and Grace Shevlin (ankle) continue to get healthy. Defender Julie Megorden (knee) was lost for the season after getting injured September 14.
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.
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