Long Beach State University Athletics
Beach Soccer Places Three on NSCAA All-West Region Team
12/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
LONG BEACH - Long Beach State women's soccer had three players named to the 2015 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-West Region Teams the organization announced on Thursday.
Junior midfielder Mimi Rangel (Chino, Calif.) and sophomore forward Ashley Gonzales (Ontario, Calif.) were both second-team selections, while senior defender Val Margerum (Lafayette, Calif.) received third-team recognition.
This is the second-straight year the Beach has had at least three all-region selections.
Gonzales earned her second All-West Region award after another impressive season. She led the 49ers with eight goals, six game-winners, 17 points and 41 shot attempts. She registered her third career brace against Hawai'i, finding the back of the net in the 29th minute, and then again with 38 seconds left in regulation to lift LBSU to the 3-2 victory.
Gonzales also scored the deciding goal in big wins over No. 4 UCLA, No. 21 DePaul, Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara. Long Beach State's victories over the latter two earned it the top seed in the Big West Tournament and secured hosting duties for next season. After just two years at the Beach, Gonzales already ranks fourth in school history with 10 career game-winners, while she is also tied for eighth with 17 goals. She was a first-team All-Big West selection.
Rangel was named to the NSCAA All-West Region Second Team for the second year in a row. She started 21 of 22 games and ranked third on the squad with nine points. Rangel finished with five assists, while finding the back of the net against Portland State and No. 6 BYU. She is among the top-10 in school history with 113 shot attempts (8th), 15 assists (T7th), and four game-winning goals (T9th). Rangel also garnered her third career first-team All-Big West honor earlier this year.
Margerum received her first All-West Region nod after anchoring a stingy Long Beach State defense. Margerum, who was second on the team with 1,966 minutes played, helped the 49ers to a conference-leading 12 shutouts and 0.65 goals against average. Their GAA was the second-best in program history and ranked 25th in the nation. Margerum was also a first-team All-Big West selection.
Long Beach State claimed a share of its fourth Big West regular season title and advanced to the conference tournament final for the second-straight year. The Beach also made its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008. LBSU finished the campaign at 12-7-3, marking its eighth double-figure win campaign in head coach Mauricio Ingrassia's 12 years at the helm.
