Women's Soccer's Seventh NCAA Tournament Begins Friday At USC

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State makes a seventh trip to the NCAA postseason, beginning the tournament with a rematch against No. 2 USC this Friday at 1:30 p.m. The game will be televised live on the Pac-12 networks and will be played at McAlister Field in Los Angeles.

• Long Beach State enters the postseason on a five-game unbeaten streak after beating UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara in the Big West Tournament without allowing a goal. The Beach has won three straight entering Friday's game at USC.

• The seniors for Long Beach State led the way in the Big West Tournament. Dana Fujikuni was named the tournament MVP as the Big West Midfielder of the Year continued her great form, scoring in both games including the game-winner against UC Davis. Ashley Gonzales extended her career goals record by scoring the winner in the championship game, and Imani McDonald made nine saves over two games while recording back-to-back shutouts.

• Mauricio 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 seven goals and is tied for the team lead with 16 points this season. Her winning goal in the Big West Championship also tied her with Beach great Kim Silos for the most game-winners in LBSU history.

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

• 14 different players have combined to score Long Beach State's 33 goals this season, with senior Dana Fujikuni scoring six goals and junior Katie Pingel each scoring four goals, just behind Gonzales' seven 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 three games 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 1.04 is the fifth-best in school history, and she currently ranks 4th in saves, 4th in minutes and 3rd in shutouts all-time at Long Beach State.

• Further up front, Long Beach State's tremendous depth has shown as 13 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, Katie Pingel 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 four players 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. Katie Pingel then earned honorable mention for her efforts in the final week of the regular season, and then Dana Fujikuni was a midfielder pick after claiming Big West MVP honors.

• Heading into the postseason, Long Beach State is receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll, while their first round opponent, USC, is ranked sixth in the coaches poll and fifth in the Top Drawer Soccer Poll.

SCOUTING THE TROJANS
• USC finished the season third in the Pac-12, and have been ranked in the Top Five for most of the season. The Trojans have had great offensive numbers, scoring 48 goals on the year led by a pair of double-digit scorers in Penelope Hocking (13) and Leah Pruitt (11). After a loss to Stanford, USC had won six straight, but stumbled late with a draw at Utah and a 3-2 loss in overtime to UCLA to close the year.

SERIES RECORD vs. USC
• USC leads the all-time series between the teams 4-2-1, and won the earlier meeting this season between the teams 3-0, after two goals from Leah Pruitt. The Beach had previously beaten the Trojans in 2016, 1-0 at George Allen Field, and the 2015 meeting between the teams at USC had ended in a scoreless draw. The Beach also defeated USC 2-1 in 2011 in Los Angeles.

TEAM OF THE DECADE
• Long Beach State has been the premier program of the Big West over the last decade. Since 2008, Long Beach State has made seven NCAA Tournaments, won five regular season titles, four Big West Tournament titles and three at-large berths into the NCAA Tournament.

A LOOK AHEAD
• With a win, Long Beach State would advance past the first round for the first time since 2011, and would face the winner of LSU and Boston at a site to be determined. Florida State is the top seed in the quadrant, and would host unless defeated in the opening round in Talahassee.

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.

Calendar

Women's Soccer's Seventh NCAA Tournament Begins Friday At USC

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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

Long Beach State University Athletics