Thursday, October 25
Davis, Calif.
4:00 PM PT
Long Beach State University
at
UC Davis
Women's Soccer Closes Regular Season With Two Final Games
10/24/2018 12:41:00 PM | Women's Soccer
The Beach will honor their seven seniors prior to Sunday's game with CSUN.
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State is in an excellent position for the final week of the regular season with two games remaining. Wins for the Beach at UC Davis and against CSUN would guarantee LBSU its fifth regular season championship and the top seed in the upcoming Big West Tournament.
• The Beach travels to UC Davis to face the Aggies at 4 p.m. on Thursday, and then hosts CSUN on Senior Day at George Allen Field on Sunday, when Long Beach State will honor their seven departing players in Alyssa Alvarez, Chloe Froment, Dana Fujikuni, Ashley Gonzales, Imani McDonald, Sarah Maher and Rocio Rodriguez.
• Long Beach State remains a point behind UC Irvine in the standings, but has a game in hand against the 'Eaters as well as the tiebreaker after a 2-1 Black and Blue Rivalry win on Sunday.
• Senior Ashley Gonzales scored the game-winner against UCI, a critical goal that also set the sennior atop the career goals scored list at Long Beach State with 34, passing Janet Fettig. The 2016 Big West Offensive Player of the Year leads the Beach with five goals and is tied for the team lead with 12 points this season.
• Long Beach State's defense has been outstanding so far in 2018, allowing only 16 goals in 16 games this season, including five shutouts, and have only given up more than two goals once.
• 12 different players have combined to score Long Beach State's 24 goals this season, with senior Dana Fujikuni scoring four goals, just behind Gonzales for the team lead and juniors Katie Pingel and Taylor Bistline each adding three.
• Long Beach State's defense has been a strong point despite the absence of 2017 Big West Defensive Player of the Year Kaitlin Fregulia. Senior Sarah Maher has been an anchor, playing nearly every minute this season while sophomore Sarah Pilster has also started all but one game in the back line. Those two have been joined by junior Chloe Froment, senior Alyssa Alvarez and junior Kaylee Ramirez to create a formidable unit in front of senior goaltender Imani McDonald.
• Senior Imani McDonald continues to rise up the career lists for goalkeeping at the Beach. Her Goals Against Average of 1.05 is the fifth-best in school history, and she currently ranks 5th in saves, 4th in minutes and 4th in shutouts all-time at Long Beach State.
• The Beach had two players recognized in back-to-back weeks on the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week. Senior Imani McDonald was the Goalkeeper on the XI for her efforts in the opening week, and then Sarah Pilster was an honorable mention defender after the wins over Northeastern and SMU.
• Further up front, Long Beach State's tremendous depth has shown as 12 outfield players have played in every game this season. Seniors Ashley Gonzales, Dana Fujikuni, Sarah Maher, Rocio Rodriguez and Alyssa Alvarez have played in every game as have juniors Taylor Bistline, Chloe Froment and Kaylee Ramirez. Underclassmen to feature in every game include Rola Badawiya, Sarah Pilster, Kayla Cannon, and freshman Elysia Laramie.
• Long Beach State once again faced a tremendous non-conference schedule. On the slate were three road games against opponents ranked in the Top 25, including the season opener against No. 2 UCLA as well as at USC and Texas. Additionally, Long Beach State hosted Auburn who started the season with a nine-game winning streak, and grabbed wins against SMU and BYU, teams both receiving votes same as the Beach when the teams played.
• Receiving two first-place votes, Long Beach State was picked to finish second in the Big West preseason coaches poll, two points behind UC Irvine, who took the top spot along with three first-place votes. Cal State Fullerton also received three first-place votes and was picked to finish third and the three rivals were very close in the final point totals. CSUN was picked to finish fourth, followed by UC Davis who received the final first-place vote. UCSB, UC Riverside, Cal Poly and Hawai'i rounded out the order as predicted by the coaches.
• The Beach had three players selected to the 11-player Big West preseason all-conference team. Senior Forward Ashley Gonzales and Junior F/MF Katie Pingel were two of the offensive players selected, while defender Chloe Froment was one of the four defenders picked as the top representatives for the Big West entering the season. All three have previously earned All-Big West honors, with Gonzales and Froment both claiming top individual honors in 2016.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
• UC Davis begins the week in the Big West Tournament positions, one point in front of Hawai'i, and will play UC Riverside to close out the season after hosting the Beach. The Aggies are led by Alicia Sloss, who has four goals on the season as well as Mahlah Catline who has added three for the Aggies, who enter Thursday's game on a three-game unbeaten run.
SERIES RECORD vs. UC DAVIS
• Long Beach State leads the all-time series 10-3-1 over UC Davis, and has won four straight against the Aggies, including the last three meetings in Davis. Long Beach State's last loss in Davis came in 2010, and that was the last defeat of any kind for the Beach against the Aggies. LBSU is riding a seven-game unbeaten run against UCD.
SCOUTING THE MATADORS
• CSUN was picked to finish in the tournament places preseason, but has been one of the surprises of the league, currently sitting in eighth place with a 2-4-0 record in conference. Wins at home over CS Fullerton and UC Riverside were undone by a pair of overtime losses at home to Hawai'i and UC Davis this season.
SERIES RECORD vs. CSUN
• Long Beach State leads the all-time series against CSUN, and has been particularly good at home against the Matadors, piling up a 9-3-2 record against CSUN at George Allen Field. The last two meetings have gone without a winner however with back-to-back draws, with the last win coming for the Beach in 2016 when LBSU knocked out the top-seeded Matadors in the Big West Tournament, also at George Allen Field.
• The Beach travels to UC Davis to face the Aggies at 4 p.m. on Thursday, and then hosts CSUN on Senior Day at George Allen Field on Sunday, when Long Beach State will honor their seven departing players in Alyssa Alvarez, Chloe Froment, Dana Fujikuni, Ashley Gonzales, Imani McDonald, Sarah Maher and Rocio Rodriguez.
• Long Beach State remains a point behind UC Irvine in the standings, but has a game in hand against the 'Eaters as well as the tiebreaker after a 2-1 Black and Blue Rivalry win on Sunday.
• Senior Ashley Gonzales scored the game-winner against UCI, a critical goal that also set the sennior atop the career goals scored list at Long Beach State with 34, passing Janet Fettig. The 2016 Big West Offensive Player of the Year leads the Beach with five goals and is tied for the team lead with 12 points this season.
• Long Beach State's defense has been outstanding so far in 2018, allowing only 16 goals in 16 games this season, including five shutouts, and have only given up more than two goals once.
• 12 different players have combined to score Long Beach State's 24 goals this season, with senior Dana Fujikuni scoring four goals, just behind Gonzales for the team lead and juniors Katie Pingel and Taylor Bistline each adding three.
• Long Beach State's defense has been a strong point despite the absence of 2017 Big West Defensive Player of the Year Kaitlin Fregulia. Senior Sarah Maher has been an anchor, playing nearly every minute this season while sophomore Sarah Pilster has also started all but one game in the back line. Those two have been joined by junior Chloe Froment, senior Alyssa Alvarez and junior Kaylee Ramirez to create a formidable unit in front of senior goaltender Imani McDonald.
• Senior Imani McDonald continues to rise up the career lists for goalkeeping at the Beach. Her Goals Against Average of 1.05 is the fifth-best in school history, and she currently ranks 5th in saves, 4th in minutes and 4th in shutouts all-time at Long Beach State.
• The Beach had two players recognized in back-to-back weeks on the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week. Senior Imani McDonald was the Goalkeeper on the XI for her efforts in the opening week, and then Sarah Pilster was an honorable mention defender after the wins over Northeastern and SMU.
• Further up front, Long Beach State's tremendous depth has shown as 12 outfield players have played in every game this season. Seniors Ashley Gonzales, Dana Fujikuni, Sarah Maher, Rocio Rodriguez and Alyssa Alvarez have played in every game as have juniors Taylor Bistline, Chloe Froment and Kaylee Ramirez. Underclassmen to feature in every game include Rola Badawiya, Sarah Pilster, Kayla Cannon, and freshman Elysia Laramie.
• Long Beach State once again faced a tremendous non-conference schedule. On the slate were three road games against opponents ranked in the Top 25, including the season opener against No. 2 UCLA as well as at USC and Texas. Additionally, Long Beach State hosted Auburn who started the season with a nine-game winning streak, and grabbed wins against SMU and BYU, teams both receiving votes same as the Beach when the teams played.
• Receiving two first-place votes, Long Beach State was picked to finish second in the Big West preseason coaches poll, two points behind UC Irvine, who took the top spot along with three first-place votes. Cal State Fullerton also received three first-place votes and was picked to finish third and the three rivals were very close in the final point totals. CSUN was picked to finish fourth, followed by UC Davis who received the final first-place vote. UCSB, UC Riverside, Cal Poly and Hawai'i rounded out the order as predicted by the coaches.
• The Beach had three players selected to the 11-player Big West preseason all-conference team. Senior Forward Ashley Gonzales and Junior F/MF Katie Pingel were two of the offensive players selected, while defender Chloe Froment was one of the four defenders picked as the top representatives for the Big West entering the season. All three have previously earned All-Big West honors, with Gonzales and Froment both claiming top individual honors in 2016.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
• UC Davis begins the week in the Big West Tournament positions, one point in front of Hawai'i, and will play UC Riverside to close out the season after hosting the Beach. The Aggies are led by Alicia Sloss, who has four goals on the season as well as Mahlah Catline who has added three for the Aggies, who enter Thursday's game on a three-game unbeaten run.
SERIES RECORD vs. UC DAVIS
• Long Beach State leads the all-time series 10-3-1 over UC Davis, and has won four straight against the Aggies, including the last three meetings in Davis. Long Beach State's last loss in Davis came in 2010, and that was the last defeat of any kind for the Beach against the Aggies. LBSU is riding a seven-game unbeaten run against UCD.
SCOUTING THE MATADORS
• CSUN was picked to finish in the tournament places preseason, but has been one of the surprises of the league, currently sitting in eighth place with a 2-4-0 record in conference. Wins at home over CS Fullerton and UC Riverside were undone by a pair of overtime losses at home to Hawai'i and UC Davis this season.
SERIES RECORD vs. CSUN
• Long Beach State leads the all-time series against CSUN, and has been particularly good at home against the Matadors, piling up a 9-3-2 record against CSUN at George Allen Field. The last two meetings have gone without a winner however with back-to-back draws, with the last win coming for the Beach in 2016 when LBSU knocked out the top-seeded Matadors in the Big West Tournament, also at George Allen Field.
Players Mentioned
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