After holding Northern Arizona to four shots in a tight 1-0 home opener loss last week, the Long Beach State’s women’s soccer team allowed four goals to Santa Clara on Thursday in another shutout loss.
Held goalless in two games this season, the 49ers (0-2-0) failed to capitalize on numerous scoring opportunities, as they attempted 10 shots in the 4-0 loss at Buck Shaw Stadium.
Thursday’s match was the second time the ‘Niners played and lost at Buck Shaw Stadium in three contested matches dating back to last year, when they fell to SCU 2-1 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
As head coach Mauricio Ingrassia noted before Thursday, this year’s match with SCU (1-2-0) was not considered a true rematch due to the 49ers’ abundance of first-year players this season.
Eight of the attempted shots, including six on goal, were made in the first half alone before SCU’s defense stifled the ‘Niners attack throughout the remaining 45 minutes.
LBSU’s defense unraveled almost immediately, with SCU senior forward Morgan Marlborough firing the game’s first goal just 43 seconds into the game. Forty-eight seconds later, midfielder Julie Johnston slipped another shot past freshman keeper Ashton Mckeown for the Broncos’ second goal.
Johnston followed with a second goal in the 13th minute to give SCU a 3-0 lead at halftime.
The Beach’s defense held SCU scoreless in the second half up until nearly four minutes left in the game. With 10 total shots in the period, the Broncos used one to pad their lead on a goal by freshman midfielder Mariana Galvin.
Though they were shut out for the second time this season, the ‘Niners had several players end the game with positive statistics. Sophomore defender Marie MacKenzie had two shots on goal in two attempts. McKeown had four saves over the entire 90 minutes of the game.
Mimi Akaogi, Elizabeth Lyons and Mimi Rangel also attempted two shots each.
The ‘Niners will conclude their road trip Sunday at No. 23 Texas Tech. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m PDT.
