Women's Soccer Begins Final Regular Season Homestand

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State has two critical games this week from George Allen Field, facing Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara in a pair of Big West conference games as the Beach passes the halfway mark of league play. The Beach will host Cal Poly on Thursday night at 6 p.m. with live stats coverage, before taking on UC Santa Barbara at Noon on Sunday on ESPN+.

KICKOFF
• Long Beach State has only lost one of their last eight games, after the team rebounded from a loss at Cal State Bakersfield Thursday with a 1-0 win against UC Davis. Entering last week, Long Beach State had gone six games unbeaten, including wins over Nevada, New Mexico State and UC Riverside with a trio of ties.

• The Beach will host three straight games at George Allen Field as the conference season moves into the second half. Those are the final three home games of the regular season, as the Beach will host UC San Diego following this week's pair of games. The regular season then concludes as the Beach faces Cal State Fullerton and CSUN both on the road.

• The Beach is well within striking distance of the league leaders, three points back of co-leaders UC Santa Barbara and CSUN. The Beach trails both UCSB and Cal Poly in the standings, but have an opportunity to make up a ton of ground with a good week this week.

• Goalkeeper Aurora Schuck turned aside a penalty kick in the 79th minute to help preserve a 1-1 draw with the Anteaters in the Black and Blue Rivalry, with the goal for the Beach coming from junior Jordan Candelaria.

• That came on the heels of a dominant win on the road at UC Riverside. Natalie Arnold scored her first two career goals and both Ameera White and Radisson Banks had a pair of assists in a 3-0 victory that saw the Highlanders outshot 17-5 on the night.

• Freshman Ameera White became the second weekly Big West award winner for Long Beach State this season, earning Freshman of the Week for her efforts during those two games. White assisted on three of Long Beach State's four goals last week, and is now the team's leader in assists with five this year. Natelle El Mokbel won the award earlier this season after scoring the game-winner against NM State and making four shots in a 1-1 tie with San Diego.

• Long Beach State opened September with a dominant 6-0 win over Nevada, and then battled to a 1-1 draw against San Diego. Cherrie Cox and Natelle El Mokbel each scored to lead the Beach to a 2-1 win over New Mexico State, and then in the Big West opener, Hawai'i and Long Beach State played to a 0-0 tie prior to this week's results that see Long Beach State without a loss in September and October.

• Long Beach State set or tied numerous offensive records during a comprehensive 6-0 win over Nevada. The six goals and 6-goal margin were both tied for the most in school history, while the team's eight assists setting up those goals broke a school record, set in 2013 when the program had seven assists against Cincinnati.

• Kailey Supa had a brace for Long Beach State as the sophomore doubled her career goal total at the Beach against the Wolf Pack, while junior Radisson Banks played a part in four goals, setting up the opener for Cherrie Cox who buried her own rebound, making two assists and scoring one of her own. 10 players in total either scored or had an assist for the Beach while Aurora Schuck closed out her first shutout of the season, making three saves.

• The Beach is now 3-1-3 at home at George Allen Field this season, with the team's only loss coming against No. 19 Texas.

• Long Beach State controlled much of the action against No. 19 Texas, outshooting the Longhorns 20-11 and taking a 1-0 lead after Cherrie Cox buried a rebound after a shot from Natalie Arnold. Two goals in the second half by Texas allowed the Longhorns to slip away with a 2-1 victory as the Beach split their games on the opening week.

• Head Coach Mauricio Ingrassia enters his 22nd year at the helm of the program. Ingrassia earned his 200th win with the Beach during the 2024 season and is readying his team for a run at a return to the postseason in 2025.

• Cherrie Cox was one of 11 players selected as Preseason All-Big West as the conference announced their preseason awards. Cox was the 2023 Big West Offensive Player of the Year, and was recognized as a standout player in advance of the season. The Beach was picked to finish fourth in the 11-team league by the coaches in the preseason coaches' poll.

• The Beach had a strong offensive start to the season, scoring three goals and piling up 36 shots over the first two games with 20 on target. Long Beach State is now outshooting their opponents 170-105 on the year.

PLAYER NOTES
• Cherrie Cox returns for Long Beach State and has played a major part in the team's success this season. The Big West Offensive Player of the Year in 2023, Cherrie Cox missed last season but has returned for her junior season. Cox leads Long Beach State with five goals scored along with a pair of assists, totaling 12 points on the year in nine games played, and ranks second in the Big West in scoring.

• Cox had the game-winner for Long Beach State in the team's last action on the road at UC Davis in a 1-0 lead.

• Radisson Banks has made a huge impact in the forward line for Long Beach State. A transfer from Washington, Banks leads Long Beach State in most offensive categories, starting every game and leading the team with 45 shots including 24 on goal, while scoring three goals and adding four assists in her first season in Long Beach.

• Anchoring the back line for Long Beach State will be junior Zoe Willis. Willis has now started 38 straight games for the Beach and played every minute of the 2024 season. She has played nearly every minute for Long Beach State dating back to October 8, 2023, coming out for just two minutes this season.

• Another key player returning after missing the full 2024 season is Brooklyn Antonucci. An All-Big West selection as well as an All-Freshman Team pick in her first season, Antonucci played over 1,700 minutes on the back line as a true freshman, starting every game and contributing six assists. Antonucci has started every game so far this season for Long Beach State.

• One of Long Beach State's most veteran players is Logan Nidy, the lone senior on the roster after transferring from San Diego State. Nidy spent three seasons with the Aztecs, including starting 13 games and playing nearly 1,200 minutes last season, providing a goal and three assists on the year. Nidy has played big minutes for Long Beach State while playing in wide positions, totaling over 900 minutes so far in 2025.

• Junior goalkeeper Aurora Schuck has played every minute in goal over each of the last two seasons for Long Beach State. Schuck now has four shutouts on the season and has made 36 saves, including a key penalty save against UC Irvine and a season-high six against No. 19 Texas. As a sophomore, Schuck made 74 saves and had five shutouts, including two straight against Cornell and UC Riverside, earning Big West Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 23, 2024.

• Junior Kana Uchida remains another solid defensive presence for Long Beach State. Now with over 3500 minutes played in her career, Uchida has started 50 games in her time at the Beach, the most of any player on the LBSU roster. Uchida started all 18 games for Long Beach State last season and has contributed six assists during her time at the Beach.

• Junior Jordan Candelaria returns as a starter for Long Beach State in the midfield. Long Beach State's team captain has started in every game this season for the Beach. The junior has now scored two goals this season after finding the net against UC Irvine, had an assist in both games last week against CSUB and URB, and is and is one of three outfield players with over 1000 minutes played this season.

• Sophomore Kailey Supa scored a brace against Nevada, and now has five goals in her career at Long Beach State. Supa scored again on the road at UC Irvine, and has six total points for the Beach this season.

• Two freshmen have made a significant impact in the early portion of the season for Long Beach State. Canadian International Natelle El Mokbel has now twice scored a game-winning goal, first in the season opener against Hawai'i and most recently against NM State. The freshman is third on the team in shots taken and trails just Banks in shots on goal during the season. Further back on the field, Ameera White leads the team in assists and has seven points on the year while starting 11 games in the midfield.

• Natalie Arnold scored a brace against UC Riverside, the first two goals of the sophomore defender's career before adding one more against Cal State Bakersfield. Arnold has started nine games this season for Long Beach State after a significant role last season as a freshman.

• Sophomore Julie Lopez has also returned for Long Beach State after missing last season's action and has had a promising start. Starting eight games and playing in every game this season, Lopez recorded her first assist of 2025 against Nevada and is among the leaders in shots taken.

THE OPPOSITION
• Cal Poly has played six games to Long Beach State's five in league play, and holds a two-point lead in the standings over the Beach entering Thursday's contest. The Mustangs have played 15 games in total, and have been potent offensively, with both Jessie Halladay and Annika Smith scoring seven goals each to lead the Big West this season. CP leads the all-time series 13-10-7, with the last two games between the teams both ending in draws.

• UC Santa Barbara begins the week tied for first place in the Big West with CSUN with 11 points, unbeaten so far in Big West play at 3-0-2. The Gauchos are 10-2-3 overall, and are coming off of a 1-0 win at home over Cal State Fullerton last Thursday. Long Beach State leads the all-time series 19-15-1, and has won two straight against UCSB at George Allen Field.

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Players Mentioned

Brooklyn Antonucci

Natalie Arnold

Radisson Banks

Jordan Candelaria

Cherrie Cox

Natelle El Mokbel

Julie Lopez

Logan Nidy

Aurora Schuck

Kailey Supa

Kana Uchida

Ameera White

Zoe Willis

Long Beach State University Athletics