Beach Soccer Opens Big West Play On The Road Against Gauchos, Mustangs

Wednesday, September 23

Santa Barbara, Calif.

7 p.m.

Long Beach State University

UC Santa Barbara

Beach Soccer Opens Big West Play On The Road Against Gauchos, Mustangs

9/22/2026 9:01:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Game Notes - Week 7

Long Beach State begins conference play with road matches at UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly

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

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- After closing non-conference play with a decisive shutout victory, Long Beach State turns their attention to The Big West and a pair of road tests on the Central Coast. The Beach open conference play at UC Santa Barbara at 7 p.m. Wednesday before traveling to Cal Poly for a 6 p.m. match Saturday.

KICKOFF
• Long Beach State opens the Big West slate with two road matches on the Central Coast. The Beach face UC Santa Barbara at 7 p.m. Wednesday, September 23, before visiting Cal Poly at 6 p.m. Saturday, September 26.

• The Beach completed non-conference play with a 6-1-2 record, their best start through nine matches in program history.

• Long Beach State bounced back from their first loss of the season with a 3-0 victory at Nevada. Cherrie Cox scored twice, Radisson Banks converted a penalty kick and Amaya Sanles made a career-high five saves.

• Cox opened the scoring with her third game-winning goal of the season before adding another goal before the end of the first half. Kailey Supa recorded the assist on Cox's second goal, and Banks completed the scoring from the penalty spot.

• The Beach controlled the Nevada match with a 12-7 advantage in shots. All 12 Long Beach State attempts were on goal, forcing nine saves from the Wolf Pack.

• Sanles handled Nevada's five shots on goal to record the second shutout of her career. She has kept a clean sheet in each of her first two collegiate starts.

• Long Beach State has scored 18 goals through nine matches, averaging 2.00 per game. The Beach have taken 115 shots and put 59 on goal for a .513 shots-on-goal percentage.

• The Beach defense has recorded six shutouts while allowing seven goals. Long Beach State has held opponents to 87 shots and 41 shots on goal over 810 minutes.

• UC Santa Barbara enters Big West play with a 5-1-3 record and a five-match unbeaten streak. The Gauchos have won two straight, defeating Idaho State 3-1 and Weber State 2-1 on the road.

• The Gauchos have scored 17 goals and allowed 10 through nine matches. UC Santa Barbara averages 15.2 shots per game and owns a 137-95 advantage in shots.

• Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara played to a 1-1 draw at George Allen Field last season. The Beach trailed at halftime before Kailey Supa scored the equalizer in the second half.

• Cal Poly held a 3-2-2 record through their first seven matches, but the Mustangs will play twice before hosting Long Beach State. Cal Poly visits Seattle on September 19 and hosts California Baptist on September 23, so their record and statistics will change before Saturday's match.

• Through seven matches, Cal Poly had scored nine goals while allowing five. The Mustangs had recorded three shutouts and held opponents to a .065 shooting percentage.

• Cal Poly earned a 1-0 victory at George Allen Field last season. The Mustangs scored in the first half and held the Beach scoreless despite Long Beach State finishing with an 18-7 advantage in shots.

• The Beach were picked seventh in the 2026 Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll with 72 points. Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara tied for first with 100 points apiece, followed by Cal State Fullerton with 98.

• Cherrie Cox and Radisson Banks were selected to the Preseason All-Big West Team. Cox leads Long Beach State with 10 goals and 21 points, while Banks has two goals and three assists for seven points.

PLAYER NOTES
• Amaya Sanles made a career-high five saves in the 3-0 victory at Nevada. The redshirt sophomore has recorded shutouts in both of her collegiate starts, stopping all six shots on goal she has faced over 180 minutes.

• Cherrie Cox recorded her third multi-goal performance of the season with a brace at Nevada. She also scored a hat trick at Fresno State and another brace against Weber State.

• Cox leads Long Beach State with 10 goals and 21 points through nine starts. She has scored in six matches and put 17 of her 25 shots on goal.

• With her performance at Nevada, Cox became the fifth player in program history to score at least 10 goals in multiple seasons. She scored a career-high 13 goals in 2023.

• Cox has 33 goals and 12 assists for 78 points through 57 career appearances. She is tied with Janet Fettig for second place in program history in career goals, trailing only Ashley Gonzales with 36.

• Cox ranks sixth in program history with 78 career points and sixth with eight game-winning goals. She needs two points to tie Ashley Gonzales for fifth on the career points list.

• The 2023 Big West Offensive Player of the Year, Cox was also named the conference's Freshman of the Year in 2022. She earned Big West Offensive Player of the Week and TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week recognition earlier this season.

• Radisson Banks converted her first penalty kick of the season at Nevada. The senior has two goals and three assists for seven points through nine starts.

• Banks ranks second on the team with 24 shots and 12 shots on goal. She has six goals and eight assists for 20 points through 27 appearances at Long Beach State.

• Including her two seasons at Washington, Banks has 12 goals and nine assists for 33 points in 62 career Division I appearances.

• Kailey Supa assisted on Cox's second goal at Nevada, giving her two goals and two assists for six points this season. The junior has already matched her career high for points in a season.

• Supa has seven goals and two assists for 16 points through 44 career appearances. She scored the equalizer in last season's 1-1 draw against UC Santa Barbara.

• Ameera White leads Long Beach State with seven assists, already surpassing the six she recorded as a freshman. The sophomore is second on the team with nine points.

• White has two goals and 13 assists for 17 points through 27 career matches. She has started 25 times and played more than 1,950 minutes.

• Taylor Bellotti has appeared in all nine matches and made six starts during her freshman season. She has one goal and two assists for four points while playing 437 minutes.

• Emerson Obrist matched her career high with two shots at Nevada and put both attempts on goal. The freshman has appeared off the bench in all nine matches and recorded her first collegiate assist at Fresno State.

• Sydney Beaumont has started all seven matches in which she has appeared, playing 606 minutes on the back line. The freshman recorded her first collegiate assist at Grand Canyon.

• Zoe Willis remains the only Long Beach State player to have played all 810 minutes this season. The senior captain has contributed to all six shutouts while extending her career total to more than 4,800 minutes.

• Ruby Mansour has started all nine matches on the back line and played 679 minutes. The sophomore has helped the Beach hold six opponents scoreless while contributing five shots at the other end.

• Jordan Candelaria made her 60th career appearance at Nevada. The senior captain has started all nine matches this season and owns three goals and four assists during her Long Beach State career.

• Kana Uchida surpassed 5,000 career minutes during the victory at Nevada. The senior has appeared in 64 matches with 62 starts and has one goal and six assists.

• Natalie Arnold made her third start of the season at Nevada. The senior has appeared in all nine matches and has three goals and one assist through 42 career appearances.

• Cassidy Drago put both of her shots on goal at Nevada. The BYU transfer has started eight matches and ranks third on the team with 14 shots, including seven on goal.

• Kylie Perez recorded her first shot on goal of the season at Nevada. The senior has appeared in seven matches and helped the Beach record five shutouts during her time on the field.