By The Long Beach State women’s soccer team ended last year on a Cinderella run and now look forward to building onto a winning tradition under head coach Mauricio Ingrassia in 2017.
LBSU advanced to the NCAA Tournament but fell to Santa Clara in the first round last season. The 49ers won the Big West Tournament after defeating UC Irvine in the championship game. The club finished the season with a 10-7-4 (4-1-3 Big West) record.
With LBSU having 21 letterwinners and seven starters returning for the 2017 campaign Ingrassia is anxious to have the season start with more depth.
“We look really deep this year,” Ingrassia said. “We are also more mature and I’m excited about the season.”
LBSU will start the 2017 season on Friday in a non-conference game against CSUN. A key matchup for the 49ers is when they host UCLA (Aug. 20) and Northwestern (Aug. 24). UCLA and Northwestern both made the NCAA Tournament last season respectively. Ingrassia prepares his squad with tough competition so the 49ers can be ready for the Big West Conference.
The team has four All-Big West returners with senior forward Ashley Gonzales, junior midfielder Dana Fujikuni and sophomore defenders Kaitlin Fregulia and Chloe Froment.
With LBSU declared favorites to win the Big West this year in the conference’s coaches preseason poll, the 49ers have the reigning Big West Offensive Player of the Year with Gonzales and Big West Freshman of the Year with Froment.
So far, Ingrassia said he was impressed with freshman Kayla Cannon and sophomore transfer Katie Pingel so far in the 49ers exhibition games. And with newcomers looking for a spot in the starting lineup, Gonzales feels optimistic toward her new teammates.
“They all have [impressed me] in their own little ways,” Gonzales said. “ [They’ve shown] that they deserve to be on this team, and they have a chance to show that on the field.”
If LBSU can remain healthy this year, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them raising the cup again. The 49ers will start conference play Oct. 1 when they host Hawai’i at George Allen Field.
