Long Beach State University Athletics
Wednesday, August 12
Long Beach, Calif.
7 p.m.
Long Beach State University
vs
Saint Mary's
Beach Opens 2026 Season At George Allen Field Hosting Saint Mary’s, Colgate
8/11/2026 3:43:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Long Beach State begins its 23rd season under Head Coach Mauricio Ingrassia with Preseason All-Big West selections Cherrie Cox and Radisson Banks leading an experienced returning group.
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State opens the 2026 campaign with a veteran core and plenty of returning production as the Beach begins its 23rd season under head coach Mauricio Ingrassia. Preseason All-Big West selections Cherrie Cox and Radisson Banks headline a group that also features captains Jordan Candelaria, Zoe Willis and Natalie Arnold, along with sophomore midfielder Ameera White.
KICKOFF
• Long Beach State will open the 2026 season taking on Saint Mary's at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 12 at George Allen Field. On Sunday, August 16, the Beach will host Colgate at noon to wrap up week one.
• Head Coach Mauricio Ingrassia enters his 23rd year at the helm of the Long Beach State program in 2026.
• Long Beach State enters the 2026 campaign following a 5-8-5 season in 2025. The Beach finished 2-4-4 in Big West action while scoring 21 goals and allowing 20.
• Long Beach State returns nine starters and 16 letterwinners from the 2025 squad, along with three returning redshirts, while welcoming six true freshmen and one transfer to the roster for the 2026 season.
• Long Beach State was picked to finish seventh in the 2026 Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll with 72 points. Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara tied for the top spot with 100 points each, while Cal State Fullerton was third with 98 points.
• Cherrie Cox and Radisson Banks were both selected to the Preseason All-Big West Team. The duo combined for nine goals and seven assists last season and finished as the top two scorers for the Beach.
PLAYER NOTES
• Senior forward Cherrie Cox is back healthy and ready to lead the Long Beach State attack in 2026. A Preseason All-Big West selection, Cox led the Beach with five goals last season despite being limited to 10 appearances, adding two assists for 12 points. She scored in five different games, including the game-winner in a 1-0 victory at UC Davis, and finished with two game-winning goals. Cox enters her senior season with 23 goals and 11 assists for 57 points in 48 career games at Long Beach State.
• Already one of the most decorated active players in the Big West, Cox was the 2023 Big West Offensive Player of the Year after scoring 13 goals with four assists as a sophomore. She was also the 2022 Big West Freshman of the Year after recording five goals and five assists in her first season at the Beach. Cox has started 43 of her 48 career appearances and has five career game-winning goals.
• After making an immediate impact in her first year at the Beach, senior forward Radisson Banks joins Cox on the Preseason All-Big West Team. A tireless worker and emotional leader, Banks started all 18 games in 2025 and led Long Beach State with 13 points on four goals and five assists. She also paced the Beach with 68 shots and 32 shots on goal.
• Banks made her presence felt from the start, scoring in her Long Beach State debut against Hawai'i before adding another goal at Portland. She produced a four-point performance with a goal and two assists against Nevada and later supplied two assists in a 3-0 win at UC Riverside. The Washington transfer enters her senior season with 10 goals and six assists in 53 career Division I appearances.
• Coming off an impressive freshman campaign, sophomore Ameera White returns as the midfield general for the Beach. White appeared in all 18 games with 16 starts and led Long Beach State with six assists while adding one goal for eight points, good for third on the team. She scored her first collegiate goal against Nevada and recorded a pair of assists in the 3-0 victory at UC Riverside.
• One of the most dependable players on the roster, senior Zoe Willis returns as a captain after starting all 18 games and playing 1,617 minutes last season, missing just 2:30 all year. Willis has appeared in 53 career games with 43 starts while logging nearly 4,000 minutes for the Beach. The versatile midfielder also trained with Angel City FC during the summer in preparation for her senior campaign.
• Versatility has been a hallmark of senior captain Jordan Candelaria's career at Long Beach State, as she has played in all three rows for the Beach. Candelaria started all 18 games last season and recorded two goals and three assists for seven points while playing nearly 1,400 minutes. She scored against Nevada and UC Irvine and enters 2026 with 51 career appearances and 32 starts.
• Few players on the roster can match the experience of senior Kana Uchida, who gives Long Beach State the flexibility to play in both defense and the midfield. Uchida has started 55 of her 56 career games and logged more than 4,400 minutes over three seasons. She started all 18 games in 2025, playing more than 1,400 minutes and contributing an assist in the 3-0 victory at UC Riverside.
• A breakout junior campaign has senior captain Natalie Arnold positioned for an expanded role in 2026. Arnold started 13 of her 17 appearances last season and finished tied for fourth on the team with seven points, scoring three goals with one assist. Her biggest performance came at UC Riverside, where she scored twice in a 3-0 victory for the first multi-goal game of her career. Arnold has appeared in 33 games with 20 starts over three seasons at the Beach.
• Providing another proven scoring option is junior forward Kailey Supa, who has five goals through her first two seasons at Long Beach State. Supa appeared in all 18 games last season and scored three times, including a two-goal performance in the 6-0 win over Nevada. She added another goal in the 3-0 victory at UC Riverside and enters 2026 with 35 career appearances.
• Senior Aurora Schuck returns to goal for the Beach, after starting has started all 36 games for the Beach over the last two seasons, playing every minute in goal while totaling 129 saves and 10 shutouts. She has posted an identical .733 save percentage in each of her two seasons at Long Beach State.
• Coming off a strong 2025 season, Schuck lowered her goals-against average from 1.50 in 2024 to 1.11 last year while recording five shutouts for the second straight campaign. She made a season-high eight saves at CSUN and posted four clean sheets during Big West play.
THIS AND THAT
• Long Beach State brings back significant production from last season, led by Banks, Cox and White. Banks finished with a team-high 13 points, Cox had 12 despite playing just 10 games, and White recorded eight. Candelaria and Arnold each finished with seven points, while Supa added six.
• Cox returns as the team's leading goal scorer from 2025 after scoring five times, while Banks scored four and Arnold and Supa each had three. White led the Beach with six assists, followed by Banks with five and Candelaria with three.
• Ingrassia earned his 200th career victory at Long Beach State on August 31, 2024, with a 2-1 win over Utah Valley. He enters his 23rd season leading the Beach in 2026.
KICKOFF
• Long Beach State will open the 2026 season taking on Saint Mary's at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 12 at George Allen Field. On Sunday, August 16, the Beach will host Colgate at noon to wrap up week one.
• Head Coach Mauricio Ingrassia enters his 23rd year at the helm of the Long Beach State program in 2026.
• Long Beach State enters the 2026 campaign following a 5-8-5 season in 2025. The Beach finished 2-4-4 in Big West action while scoring 21 goals and allowing 20.
• Long Beach State returns nine starters and 16 letterwinners from the 2025 squad, along with three returning redshirts, while welcoming six true freshmen and one transfer to the roster for the 2026 season.
• Long Beach State was picked to finish seventh in the 2026 Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll with 72 points. Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara tied for the top spot with 100 points each, while Cal State Fullerton was third with 98 points.
• Cherrie Cox and Radisson Banks were both selected to the Preseason All-Big West Team. The duo combined for nine goals and seven assists last season and finished as the top two scorers for the Beach.
PLAYER NOTES
• Senior forward Cherrie Cox is back healthy and ready to lead the Long Beach State attack in 2026. A Preseason All-Big West selection, Cox led the Beach with five goals last season despite being limited to 10 appearances, adding two assists for 12 points. She scored in five different games, including the game-winner in a 1-0 victory at UC Davis, and finished with two game-winning goals. Cox enters her senior season with 23 goals and 11 assists for 57 points in 48 career games at Long Beach State.
• Already one of the most decorated active players in the Big West, Cox was the 2023 Big West Offensive Player of the Year after scoring 13 goals with four assists as a sophomore. She was also the 2022 Big West Freshman of the Year after recording five goals and five assists in her first season at the Beach. Cox has started 43 of her 48 career appearances and has five career game-winning goals.
• After making an immediate impact in her first year at the Beach, senior forward Radisson Banks joins Cox on the Preseason All-Big West Team. A tireless worker and emotional leader, Banks started all 18 games in 2025 and led Long Beach State with 13 points on four goals and five assists. She also paced the Beach with 68 shots and 32 shots on goal.
• Banks made her presence felt from the start, scoring in her Long Beach State debut against Hawai'i before adding another goal at Portland. She produced a four-point performance with a goal and two assists against Nevada and later supplied two assists in a 3-0 win at UC Riverside. The Washington transfer enters her senior season with 10 goals and six assists in 53 career Division I appearances.
• Coming off an impressive freshman campaign, sophomore Ameera White returns as the midfield general for the Beach. White appeared in all 18 games with 16 starts and led Long Beach State with six assists while adding one goal for eight points, good for third on the team. She scored her first collegiate goal against Nevada and recorded a pair of assists in the 3-0 victory at UC Riverside.
• One of the most dependable players on the roster, senior Zoe Willis returns as a captain after starting all 18 games and playing 1,617 minutes last season, missing just 2:30 all year. Willis has appeared in 53 career games with 43 starts while logging nearly 4,000 minutes for the Beach. The versatile midfielder also trained with Angel City FC during the summer in preparation for her senior campaign.
• Versatility has been a hallmark of senior captain Jordan Candelaria's career at Long Beach State, as she has played in all three rows for the Beach. Candelaria started all 18 games last season and recorded two goals and three assists for seven points while playing nearly 1,400 minutes. She scored against Nevada and UC Irvine and enters 2026 with 51 career appearances and 32 starts.
• Few players on the roster can match the experience of senior Kana Uchida, who gives Long Beach State the flexibility to play in both defense and the midfield. Uchida has started 55 of her 56 career games and logged more than 4,400 minutes over three seasons. She started all 18 games in 2025, playing more than 1,400 minutes and contributing an assist in the 3-0 victory at UC Riverside.
• A breakout junior campaign has senior captain Natalie Arnold positioned for an expanded role in 2026. Arnold started 13 of her 17 appearances last season and finished tied for fourth on the team with seven points, scoring three goals with one assist. Her biggest performance came at UC Riverside, where she scored twice in a 3-0 victory for the first multi-goal game of her career. Arnold has appeared in 33 games with 20 starts over three seasons at the Beach.
• Providing another proven scoring option is junior forward Kailey Supa, who has five goals through her first two seasons at Long Beach State. Supa appeared in all 18 games last season and scored three times, including a two-goal performance in the 6-0 win over Nevada. She added another goal in the 3-0 victory at UC Riverside and enters 2026 with 35 career appearances.
• Senior Aurora Schuck returns to goal for the Beach, after starting has started all 36 games for the Beach over the last two seasons, playing every minute in goal while totaling 129 saves and 10 shutouts. She has posted an identical .733 save percentage in each of her two seasons at Long Beach State.
• Coming off a strong 2025 season, Schuck lowered her goals-against average from 1.50 in 2024 to 1.11 last year while recording five shutouts for the second straight campaign. She made a season-high eight saves at CSUN and posted four clean sheets during Big West play.
THIS AND THAT
• Long Beach State brings back significant production from last season, led by Banks, Cox and White. Banks finished with a team-high 13 points, Cox had 12 despite playing just 10 games, and White recorded eight. Candelaria and Arnold each finished with seven points, while Supa added six.
• Cox returns as the team's leading goal scorer from 2025 after scoring five times, while Banks scored four and Arnold and Supa each had three. White led the Beach with six assists, followed by Banks with five and Candelaria with three.
• Ingrassia earned his 200th career victory at Long Beach State on August 31, 2024, with a 2-1 win over Utah Valley. He enters his 23rd season leading the Beach in 2026.
Players Mentioned
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