Long Beach State To Face Two Ranked Opponents In Busy Week

8/29/2018 12:32:00 PM | Women's Soccer

First up is a game on the road at No. 23 Texas on the Longhorn Network.

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. --

BEFORE KICKOFF
• Two big chances for the Beach to impress this week, as Long Beach State continues to play on the national stage. First, the team travels to face No. 23 Texas on the road Thursday on the Longhorn Network, and then returns home for a marquee game against No. 17 Auburn on Sunday at 5 p.m.

• LBSU begins the week just outside of the Top 25, moving up while riding a three-game winning streak. The Beach has defeated or tied a ranked opponent in each of the last nine seasons, and will get two more cracks this week after going toe-to-toe with No. 2 UCLA, playing 89 scoreless minutes against the Bruins before UCLA scored a goal in the closing seconds to come away with the win.

• Following the game against the Bruins, the Beach bounced back with three wins at George Allen Field, dropping SMU, Northeastern and San Diego State behind stifling defense.

• The Beach has 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 last week's wins.

• Ashley Gonzales has returned in a big way and continues to lead the Beach. With a goal and an assist against Northeastern, the senior returned to the score sheet after missing all of last year on a medical redshirt following her 2016 Big West Offensive Player of the Year campaign.

• In the absence of Gonzales at the top of the formation in 2017, Long Beach State had tremendous offensive balance, with 13 different players combining to score the 25 total goals for the Beach on the year, while 12 players combined for the assists on those goals. In total, 17 different players combined to play in Long Beach State's scoring last season. That has continued this season, with four different players scoring Long Beach State's four goals in 2018.

• The Beach returns 18 letterwinners for the 2018 season from the 2017 team, and welcomes back nine starters from last season in goalkeeper Imani McDonald, defenders Kaitlin Fregulia, Sarah Pilster, Chloe Froment and Alyssa Alvarez, midfielders Katie Pingel, Rocio Rodriguez, and Dana Fujikuni and forward Rola Badawiya.

• The LBSU defense should be an area of strength in the upcoming year. The Beach recorded 9 shutouts one season ago, second-most in the Big West, and return four starters from the back line as well as senior Sarah Maher and goalkeeper Imani McDonald. Combined, Alyssa Alvarez, Kaitlin Fregulia, Chloe Froment, Sarah Pilster and Maher have totaled 195 games of experience in defense entering the year.

• Long Beach State will once again face a tremendous non-conference schedule. On the slate are 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 will host Auburn who recently entered the Top 25, and grabbed a win in the opening weekend against SMU who was receiving votes at the time.

• 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 preseason all-conference team as well. 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.

• Along with Long Beach State's nine returning starters, the Beach brings back six additional players that played in over half of the 49ers' games last season. Senior Sarah Maher will help bolster the defense, while Taylor Bistline, Kayla Cannon, Kaylee Ramirez, Nadiyah Siqueiros, and Makayla Soll will all continue to challenge for time on the field in 2018.

• Additional reinforcements for the Beach come in the form of seven newcomers for 2018. Riana Castaneda joins the team as a junior college transfer after two years as the starting goalkeeper at Fresno City College. She is joined by six new freshman in a highly touted class featuring Sierra Castles, Charlotte Guillory, Elysia Laramie, Angela Morales, Lena Silano, and goalkeeper Abigail Trengove.

SCOUTING THE LONGHORNS
• Texas enters the weekend with a 2-0-1 overall record and is led by Cyera Hintzen, who has score four of the team's five goals on twelve total shots this year. Opening the season with a pair of wins, the Longhorns played to a 1-1 draw at No. 4 North Carolina in their last game.

SERIES RECORD vs. TEXAS
• This is the first meeting between the teams.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
• Auburn is averaging four goals per game, and has started the season with four straight wins to move into the Top 25, with the most impressive win coming in a 2-1 victory at home over South Florida. The Tigers will play a pair of Big West opponents on their trip West, taking on Cal State Fullerton on Friday before coming to George Allen Field on Sunday.

SERIES RECORD vs. AUBURN
• Long Beach State is 1-1 against the Tigers, with both games going into overtime. The Beach won 2-1 on the road in 2013 before falling in the return game in 2015 in double overtime 1-0 in Long Beach.

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.