Women's Soccer Back At George Allen Field For Two Games

LONG BEACH, Calif. --

• Long Beach State returns home for two Big West games at George Allen Field as the conference season really picks up for the Beach. The week starts with a Thursday night contest against Cal Poly at 6 p.m., and then the Beach will take on UC Santa Barbara in the team's second ever TV game at home, televised live on ESPN3.

• After winning 3-2 at Hawai'i last week, Long Beach State remains unbeaten in conference play, and is in the tournament places in points while having played fewer games than any team in front of them in the standings. With two games at home this week, the Beach has an opportunity to move into the top spot with a game in hand.

• Long Beach State's defense has been outstanding so far in 2018, allowing only 14 goals in 12 games this season, including a trio of shutouts, and have only given up more than two goals once.

• Ashley Gonzales has returned in a big way and continues to lead the Beach. The senior has scored four goals and made an assist this season while leading the team with 27 shots, including 12 on target after missing the 2017 campaign with injury.

• Gonzales' goal against LMU tied the senior with Janet Fettig for the most in school history. Her next goal will see her stand alone at the top of the goal-scoring list at Long Beach State with 34 goals in her career.

• While Gonzales leads the team in scoring, ten different players have combined to score Long Beach State's 20 goals this season, with senior Dana Fujikuni scoring four goals 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 every 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 1.13 is the seventh-best in school history, and she currently ranks 6th in saves, 5th in minutes and 5th 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 16 outfield players have played in at least 11 of the team's 12 games this year. 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, Makayla Soll 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 MUSTANGS
• Cal Poly has struggled in 2018 to a 1-10-4 overall record, but snagged a 1-0 win over CSUN at home and played to a scoreless draw at UC Riverside, a recent improvement in results despite scoring just 12 goals in 15 games thus far in 2018.

SERIES RECORD vs. CAL POLY
• Cal Poly leads the all-time series 12-7-4, but Long Beach State has won two of the last three games between the teams, including the last meeting in Long Beach, a 2-1 win on the strength of goals from Ashley Gonzales and Mimi Rangel.

SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS
• UC Santa Barbara's only game of the week is Sunday's contest against the Beach, and the Gauchos enter the game with a decision in all of their games, going to overtime three times this year but winning one and losing in double-overtime on the road at UC Irvine. Shaelan Murison is the top threat for UCSB, having scored nine goals with four assists on the year.

SERIES RECORD vs. UCSB
• In one of Long Beach State's most played series, the Beach holds a 15-11-1 lead all-time. That lead has come on the strength of good recent results, as the Beach has won seven of the last eight meetings between the teams and has gone eight unbeaten in Long Beach, dating back to 2001.

THIS AND THAT
• Last season, Long Beach State led the Big West in attendance and set a new single-season best while averaging 992 in attendance per game. With plenty of fun promotions and a great schedule on the horizon, Beach Women's Soccer is looking to break 1,000 fans per game for the first time in 2018, and opened the season with 1,240 fans in attendance to view the SMU game.

• Long Beach State will have three 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 last season as well.

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Players Mentioned

Alyssa Alvarez

Rola Badawiya

Taylor Bistline

Kayla Cannon

Kaitlin Fregulia

Chloe Froment

Dana Fujikuni

Ashley Gonzales

Elysia Laramie

Sarah Maher

Imani McDonald

Sarah Pilster

Katie Pingel

Kaylee Ramirez

Rocio Rodriguez

Makayla Soll

Long Beach State University Athletics