Women's Soccer To Play At No. 3 USC Friday

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State's third road game features a third ranked opponent, as the Beach heads north to face No. 3 USC this Friday at 1 p.m. The game will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks, as LBSU looks to extend their two-match unbeaten streak against the Trojans.

• LBSU begins the week just outside of the Top 25, receiving votes following wins over San Diego State, Northeastern and another program receiving votes, SMU while not losing to any team outside of the Top 15 this week. The Beach has defeated or tied a ranked opponent in each of the last nine seasons, and will have at least one more opportunity this season against USC.

• Long Beach State's defense has been outstanding so far in 2018, allowing only five goals in seven games this season, including a trio of shutouts, and not giving up more than two goals in a single game.

• 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.

• Ashley Gonzales has returned in a big way and continues to lead the Beach. The senior has scored two goals and made an assists already this season while leading the team with 18 shots, including eight on target after missing the 2017 campaign with injury.

• Fellow senior Dana Fujikuni has been the top scorer for the Beach this season, scoring three goals on eight shots, but eight different players have combined to score Long Beach State's 11 goals this season as the offense so far has been extremely balanced.

• 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.

• 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.

• McDonald continues to rise up the career lists for goalkeeping at the Beach. Her Goals Against Average of 1.02 is the fifth-best in school history, and she currently ranks 7th in saves, 8th in minutes and fifth in shutouts all-time at Long Beach State.

• Further up front, Long Beach State's tremendous depth has shown as 16 players have played in at least six of the team's seven 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 all seven games including Rola Badawiya, Sarah Pilster, Kayla Cannon, Makayla Soll and freshman Elysia Laramie.

• 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 hosted Auburn who is now in the Top 10, and grabbed a win in the opening weekend against SMU, at team continuing to receive votes same as the 49ers.

• 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.

SCOUTING THE TROJANS
• USC has risen all the way to No. 3 in the rankings following a strong start to the season, going seven games without a loss. The Trojans had a scoreless draw at No. 4 Florida State, but otherwise have gone 6-0, including a 6-1 win over Cal Poly against Big West opposition. Savannah DeMelo, Leah Pruitt and Penelope Hocking have all scored four goals for the Trojans.

SERIES RECORD vs. USC
• USC holds a slight 3-2-1 all-time edge in the series, though the Beach has had the upper hand recently, winning 1-0 in 2016 at George Allen Field following a scoreless tie the year before in Los Angeles. Long Beach State has a win and a draw in the last two trips to USC.

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