Sunday, November 4
Irvine, Calif.
1 p.m.
Long Beach State University
12-5-3, 5-1-2
2
vs
0
UC Santa Barbara
13-7-1, 5-2-1
1
2
F
UC Santa Barbara
0
0
0
Long Beach State
1
1
2
Soccer Wins Fourth Big West Tournament Championship To Finish Off The Double
11/4/2018 4:01:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Long Beach State takes both the regular season and tournament championships before heading to a seventh NCAA Tournament.
IRVINE, Calif. – Long Beach State's seniors came through in a big way, as Ashley Gonzales and Dana Fujikuni scored the goals and Imani McDonald recorded her second straight postseason shutout as the Beach won their fourth Big West Tournament championship with a 2-0 win over UC Santa Barbara.
The Big West Midfielder of the Year, Fujikuni was named the Tournament MVP after scoring in both games for Long Beach State (12-5-3), while McDonald recorded her 12th individual shutout of her career as the senior didn't allow a goal throughout the tournament.
The senior keeper helped get Long Beach State out to the lead, as a save from McDonald led to a counter and a shot from Katie Pingel. The Beach kept the pressure on, and a foul by UC Santa Barbara (13-7-1) just outside of the box led to a dangerous opportunity minutes later.
With Gonzales over the ball, the senior buried the free kick into the lower left corner, recording the 36th goal of her career and tying another Long Beach State record with what would be the game-winner, her 15th game-winning goal.
The senior nearly added another minutes later, as Hanna DeWeese tipped a shot from Gonzales onto the crossbar as LBSU was in charge of the first 30 minutes. UCSB's best chance in the first half came from a speculative effort in the closing seconds that was perfectly placed, forcing McDonald into a great save just before the break.
McDonald came up big again with a save in the 52nd minute on a UCSB free kick, but it was the Beach that would get the breakthrough minutes later. Coming back the other direction, Elysia Laramie beat her defender and forced DeWeese off of her line, and the ensuing deflection landed at the feet of Fujikuni who calmly tapped in the insurance goal for a 2-0 lead.
With the win, Long Beach State has earned the program's seventh trip to the NCAA tournament, and will have gone three times in the last four seasons. The Beach will find out their opponent and location for the first round when the NCAA announces the field at 1:30 p.m. PT Monday on NCAA.com.
The Big West Midfielder of the Year, Fujikuni was named the Tournament MVP after scoring in both games for Long Beach State (12-5-3), while McDonald recorded her 12th individual shutout of her career as the senior didn't allow a goal throughout the tournament.
Sights and sounds from your 2018 Big West Women's Soccer Champions, @LBSUSoccer!!! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/adzgLzQTNh
— LongBeachStateSoccer (@LBSUSoccer) November 4, 2018
The senior keeper helped get Long Beach State out to the lead, as a save from McDonald led to a counter and a shot from Katie Pingel. The Beach kept the pressure on, and a foul by UC Santa Barbara (13-7-1) just outside of the box led to a dangerous opportunity minutes later.
With Gonzales over the ball, the senior buried the free kick into the lower left corner, recording the 36th goal of her career and tying another Long Beach State record with what would be the game-winner, her 15th game-winning goal.
The senior nearly added another minutes later, as Hanna DeWeese tipped a shot from Gonzales onto the crossbar as LBSU was in charge of the first 30 minutes. UCSB's best chance in the first half came from a speculative effort in the closing seconds that was perfectly placed, forcing McDonald into a great save just before the break.
McDonald came up big again with a save in the 52nd minute on a UCSB free kick, but it was the Beach that would get the breakthrough minutes later. Coming back the other direction, Elysia Laramie beat her defender and forced DeWeese off of her line, and the ensuing deflection landed at the feet of Fujikuni who calmly tapped in the insurance goal for a 2-0 lead.
DANA FUJIKUNI!
— Big West W-Soccer (@BigWestWSOC) November 4, 2018
The #BigWest Midfielder of the Year puts it away in 56th minute and @LBSUSoccer are up 2-0 in the #BWCTourney Final ??.
?? https://t.co/PVb25Tuqmt #GoBeach #PlayBig pic.twitter.com/Sl7isZsY57
With the win, Long Beach State has earned the program's seventh trip to the NCAA tournament, and will have gone three times in the last four seasons. The Beach will find out their opponent and location for the first round when the NCAA announces the field at 1:30 p.m. PT Monday on NCAA.com.
Team Stats
UCSB
LBSU
Goals
0
2
Shots
15
16
Shots on Goal
5
5
Saves
3
5
Corners
3
5
Fouls
9
14
Scoring Plays
Gonzales, Ashley (7)
free kick straight on top of box inside
25:15
Fujikuni, Dana (6)
keeper out, clear off LBSU player, defen
55:57
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
MF
/ Women's SoccerF
/ Women's Soccer
D/F
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's SoccerF/MF
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