Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Look to Raise Cain in Arizona
9/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 24, 2008
LONG BEACH--Long Beach State Soccer (5-2-2) will finish off their two weekend road trip this Friday and Sunday when they travel to Arizona (4-2-0) on Friday at 7 p.m. and to Arizona State (4-2-3) on Sunday at 1 p.m. This is the first meetings ever between the 49ers and the two Arizona schools.
This will be a key regional matchup, as the Wildcats are eighth in the West, the 49ers are 13th and ASU is 14th. The upper half of the region is normally ranked in the top-30.
Next weekend the 49ers, who were picked to finish second in the Big West, will open up conference play at home against UC Davis and Pacific. LBSU, the winners of the last two regular season titles, were picked to finish second by a point to UC Santa Barbara. That matchup takes place on the next to last match of the regular season, October 31, in Goleta.
Arizona is 6-2-0 on the season, winning twice last weekend in overtime, defeating Michigan and CS Northridge last weekend. The Wildcats, who are ranked 10th in the region according to the NSCAA, had to go to double overtime to defeat CS Northridge. The Wildcats have now won four straight and are led by Renae Cuellar's five goals. Chelsea McIntyre has an 0.60 goals against average. The Wildcats are just out of the top-30 in Soccer Buzz national poll .
Arizona State enters the week at 4-2-3, having gone undefeated over their last five matches (3-0-2). Senior Karin Volpe leads the club with five goals and two assists, while senior Briana Silvestri has an 0.47 goals against average. ASU has allowed just two goals twice this season, and just three goals since September 5, posting three shutouts. Silvestri was named the Pac 10's Athlete of the Week after posting back-to-back shutouts two weeks ago, making seven saves in an 0-0 tie against No. 7 Texas. ASU was 10-9-1 last year and return six starters for second year Coach Kevin Boyd.
The youngsters continue to lead the 49ers, as sophomores Lindsay Bullock (Manhattan Beach) and Kristen Kiefer (Mission Viejo) lead the club with five goals apiece. The team's two seniors, Kim Silos (10 points) and Hayley Bolt (eight points) are not far behind in the scoring. Fellow senior Dana Farquhar (Redlands) leads the club with three assists. Silos remains an assist away from tying the school-record for career assists (27).
Senior goalkeeper Liz Ramos (Bakersfield) has taken back her job back in the net, posting three of the team's five shutouts this season, while lowering her goals against average to 0.87. Ramos now owns both the school and Big West record for shutouts with 31.5.
The defense continues to be the most consistent piece of the puzzle for Head Coach Mauricio Ingrassia, who won his 50th Division-I match last Sunday. The starting four of Bo Rael, Nicole Hubbard, Tiffany Vaught and Sara Baca have logged the most minutes in the back this season, allowing 10 shots or less in all nine matches.
