The 49er women’s soccer team has held the opposition scoreless for two straight matches, but has no wins to show for it.
Long Beach State (5-6-2) had to settle for its second 0-0 decision in five days after drawing with Cal State Bakersfield Sunday afternoon at George Allen Field, concluding its nonconference slate.
In the closing seconds of the second extra-time period, 49er forward Jenny Soza sprinted to a pass on the Roadrunners’ third of the field for a one-on-one with CSUB goalkeeper Kym Gause, lashing a shot one foot over the crossbar.
Moments earlier, Nicole Hubbard slipped past a CSUB defender for a ball at point-blank distance but could not get a good foot on it.
‘Niner head coach Mauricio Ingrassia, who praised his team’s grit in Wednesday’s scoreless tilt against San Diego, saw the draw in a different light, given the wasted opportunities.
“Today, you can’t be happy with this result,” he said. “We had good looks, but did not have the composure.”
LBSU kept the Roadrunners on their heels for much of the second overtime period, producing two Shawna Gordon corner kicks and three Chantel Hubbard somersault throw-ins in the opening sequence.
Gordon tallied five shots to lead all 49er players, with two of them on-goal.
CSUB’s best chance to strike came early in the first half when midfielder Sam Pena drew ‘Niner goalkeeper Emily Kingsborough away from the net and chipped the ball toward the far post in the 16th minute. A scrambling effort from Chantel to clear the ball wide for a CSUB corner kick prevented the Roadrunners from pulling ahead.
“I thought it was going to go in,” Chantel said. “I was just thinking ‘get it away from the net.'”
Six minutes later, Roadrunner defender Brittany Thomas whipped a shot off the crossbar from straightaway just outside the box.
The Beach out-shot the Roadrunners, 18-10, stifling CSUB to just three attempts during the second half and extra-time periods. Kingsborough, who needed to make four saves in the first half, had to stop only one shot the remainder of the match.
“We had lots of opportunities, but if we couldn’t win, then I’m glad we didn’t lose,” Chantel said.”
The 49ers will begin to play out the remaining six matches of their schedule at 5 p.m. on Thursday at UC Santa Barbara. They close out the Central Coast trip against Cal Poly on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The LBSU attack, which has produced only three goals over the last six matches, received a slight jolt from the return of midfielder Karina Camacho, who had been sidelined since September with a knee injury. Camacho fired two shots with one going on target.
“It’s good to get Camacho back in,” Ingrassia said. “She needs to get her rhythm and legs back. We look forward to turning our frustration toward the [Big West].”
