Women's Soccer Takes First Road Trip Of The Season To Play Washington And Portland

Thursday, August 21

Seattle, Wash.

7 p.m.

Long Beach State University

Washington

Women's Soccer Takes First Road Trip Of The Season To Play Washington And Portland

8/20/2025 9:14:00 AM | Women's Soccer

The Beach starts with Washington on Thursday night and then will play Portland for the first time ever on Sunday.

By: Roger Kirk, Associate Athletics Director, Communications & Broadcast

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State will take their first road trip of the season, facing Washington and Portland on the road in a visit to the Pacific Northwest. The Beach will open against the Huskies Thursday night with coverage on B1G+ before taking on Portland Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.

KICKOFF
• Opening the season on George Allen Field, Long Beach State had a sparkling start to the season in a non-conference matchup against preseason Big West favorites, Hawai'i. Radisson Banks opened the scoring with an early goal, and freshman Natelle El Mokbel headed home the game-winner off of an Ameera White free kick to give the Beach a 2-1 win over the Rainbow Wahine.

• In game two, 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. Radisson Banks led the way with 10 shots over the first two games, while Cherrie Cox added nine with both scoring a goal in the first two games of the year.

PLAYER NOTES
• The Big West Offensive Player of the Year in 2023, Cherrie Cox missed last season but returns in 2025 after leading the Beach and the Big West with 13 goals as a sophomore. Cox was eighth in the country in goals per game and started every game she played in as a sophomore. As a freshman in 2022, Cox was the sixth player from LBSU to be named the Big West Freshman of the Year. Playing in all 21 games, Cox finished the season with five goals and five assists in her first year at the Beach.

• 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. Her return to the lineup will be another hugely impactful addition for the Beach.

• Long Beach State turned to the transfer portal for two Division I players over the offseason. Junior forward Radisson Banks comes to the Beach from Washington, where Banks played in 35 games, starting 11 over the last two seasons and scoring six goals for the Huskies.

• Also coming to Long Beach State 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.

• Anchoring the back line for Long Beach State will be junior Zoe Willis. Willis has now started 26 straight games for the Beach and played every minute of the 2024 season. She has played every minute for Long Beach State dating back to October 8, 2023.

• Junior goalkeeper Aurora Schuck also returns after playing every minute last season for Long Beach State. Shuck made six saves against Texas to start the year in 2025. Schuck made 74 saves on the year 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.

• Another defensive stalwart returns for the Beach in Kana Uchida. The Japanese defender has played nearly 3,000 minutes combined over the last two seasons for Long Beach State and has 37 starts in her career, the most of any player on the LBSU roster. Uchida started all 18 games for Long Beach State last season and has contributed five assists during her time at the Beach.

• Junior Jordan Candelaria returns as a starter for Long Beach State in the midfield. Candelaria made 14 starts as a sophomore and has now played in 33 games over the last two seasons in her Long Beach State career. She scored the game-winner against Fresno State in 2023 and played over 1,100 minutes last season.

• Three other returning players saw over 500 minutes of action last season for Long Beach State. Kylie Perez made eight starts in the midfield, Kailey Supa started seven while finishing with a pair of goals as a freshman, and Natalie Arnold made seven starts, playing nearly 700 minutes throughout the season.

• Other returning letterwinners include Charlotte Luhr, Malea Johnson, and Natalie Arnold, while Makena Irvine, Amanda Perez, Julie Lopez, and goalkeeper Amaya Sanles join Cox and Antonucci as returning redshirts from last season.

• Long Beach State brought in four new international players for the 2025 campaign. Natelle El Mokbel is a winger from Canada, Mila Ivits is a forward from Greece, Yuna Demir is a midfielder from Germany, and Thilde Alvberger is a defender from Sweden.

• Freshmen joining the program from closer to home include goalkeeper Cassidy Parks, defenders Ruby Mansour and Siri Coyne, and three midfielders: Kylie O'Donnell, Hannah Peters, and Ameera White.

THE OPPOSITION
• Washington opened the season with a 1-1 draw against Oregon State and then dominated Idaho in their second home game of the season, winning 4-0. Samiah Shell has scored a pair of goals and added an assist for the Huskies, while Jadyn Holdenried, Kelsey Branson and Avery Nguyen have accounted for their other goals.

• Portland has played one game this season, playing to a scoreless draw on the road at Oregon to kick off the season. The Pilots will play two Big West teams through the week, hosting Cal State Fullerton before taking on the Beach on Sunday.

• Thursday's game against the Huskies is just the third in the series, with Long Beach State battling to a 1-1 tie in the only game from Seattle coming in 2021. The Huskies then beat Long Beach State in the return trip the following season. Sunday's game marks the first meeting between Long Beach State and Portland in program history.