Women's Soccer Begins Big West Tournament Thursday

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- As Big West Champions, Long Beach State will begin the 2018 postseason journey as the top seed at the Big West Tournament, kicking off this Thursday. In the semifinals, Long Beach State will face UC Davis at 5 p.m. at Anteater Stadium, and with a win, would advance to Sunday's championship game.

• Long Beach State enters the postseason on a three-game unbeaten run, having tied the Aggies in Davis while picking wins over UC Irvine and CSUN in that time. The 3-1 win over the Matadors put the Beach on 17 points and gave LBSU a fifth Big West regular season championship under Mauricio Ingrassia.

• A win Thursday would put Long Beach State into the Big West Finals for the fourth time in the last five years, and set the program up for its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance.

• Ingrassia was named the Big West Coach of the Year after leading the squad to the Big West Championship, earning the honor for the second time. Two players also earned top honors from the conference, as senior Dana Fujikuni was named the Big West Midfielder of the Year, and Sarah Maher was picked as the Big West Defensive Player of the Year.

• Fujikuni was the fifth separate Beach player to win Big West Midfielder of the Year, and Long Beach State midfielders have now won the award seven times in the last 13 years. Maher also extends Long Beach State's streak of Defensive Player of the Year winners, as Kaitlin Fregulia was the 2017 selection.

• In all, six Long Beach State players were named to the All-Big West squads. Fujikuni, Maher and senior forward Ashley Gonzales were all selected First-Team All-Big West, Gonzales earning first-team honors for the third time. Katie Pingel was named to the second-team for the second straight season, while Taylor Bistline was named Honorable Mention and Elysia Laramie made the All-Freshman Team.

• Senior Ashley Gonzales scored the game-winner against UCI, a critical goal that also set the senior 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 six goals and leads the team with 14 points this season.

• Long Beach State's defense has been outstanding so far in 2018, allowing only 20 goals in 18 games this season, including five shutouts, and have only given up more than two goals twice.

• 14 different players have combined to score Long Beach State's 30 goals this season, with senior Dana Fujikuni and junior Katie Pingel each scoring four goals, just behind Gonzales for the team lead while junior Taylor Bistline has scored 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 sophomore 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 1.10 is the sixth-best in school history, and she currently ranks 4th in saves, 4th in minutes and 4th in shutouts all-time at Long Beach State.

• 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 and Chloe Froment. Underclassmen to feature in every game include Kaylee Ramirez, Rola Badawiya, Sarah Pilster, Kayla Cannon, and freshman Elysia Laramie.

• The Beach has had three players recognized this season 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. Junior Katie Pingel was the final selection, earning honorable mention after helping the Beach claim the regular season title.

• 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 leapfrogged Hawai'i in the final day of the season with win over UC Riverside to finish in fourth place in the conference. 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. Goalkeeper Alexis Smith has recorded six shutouts and has made 73 saves on the year.

SERIES RECORD vs. UC DAVIS
• Long Beach State leads the all-time series 10-3-2 over UC Davis, and had won four straight against the Aggies before last week's wild 3-3 draw 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 eight-game unbeaten run against UCD.

AGAINST THE FIELD
• Long Beach State won their meetings against the other two teams in the field, winning both UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbra when the teams visited George Allen Field. Against the Gauchos on October 14, Sarah Maher's 64th minute goal was the winner, while Ashley Gonzales and Sierra Castles were the goal scorers in a 2-1 victory over the Anteaters on October 21.

THIS AND THAT
• Long Beach State now has five players on the roster that have earned top honors in the Big West conference in their careers. Forward Ashley Gonzales was the 2016 Offensive Player of the Year, while defender Chloe Froment was the 2016 Freshman of the Year. Defender Kaitlin Fregulia was honored as the Big West Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, while Dana Fujikuni (Midfielder of the Year) and Sarah Maher (Defensive Player of the Year) earned the honors this season.

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Players Mentioned

Alyssa Alvarez

Rola Badawiya

Taylor Bistline

Kayla Cannon

Sierra Castles

Kaitlin Fregulia

Chloe Froment

Dana Fujikuni

Ashley Gonzales

Elysia Laramie

Sarah Maher

Imani McDonald

Sarah Pilster

Katie Pingel

Kaylee Ramirez

Rocio Rodriguez

Long Beach State University Athletics