By Bryan Chavez
Long Beach State outlasted visiting Cornell University 1-0 for the first home win of the season at George Allen Field on Friday.
The opening goal of the match came six minutes into the second half after freshman midfielder Malea Johnson struck the ball outside the box and put it in the top left corner of the goal, leaving the Cornell keeper frozen to the ground as The Beach took a 1-0 lead.
Freshman midfielder Malea Johnson rockets in a longshot for the only goal of the game. Johnson scores her first goal of the season as she scored the winning goal for the Beach. Photographed by Mark Siquig.
The first goal of Johnson’s LBSU career was all The Beach would need to take home the win.
“I have been working on that play myself,” Johnson said. “I knew I had the ability and I took the risk.”
Both teams struggled to create any dangerous opportunities in the first half. Junior forward Liz Worden came closest to breaking the deadlock after she struck a shot that hit the center of the crossbar right before the first half ended.
LBSU mostly relied on Worden to dribble past defenders in the first half, while Cornell would counter attack with their right wingers. Cornell started the match with high pressure up the pitch, barely giving the LBSU defenders a moment to think.
“We played a physical team that did a good job at shrinking spaces,” head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said. “We found our goal and defended to the end.”
Long ball looked to be in the playbook for both teams throughout the tight match. Neither squad was able to keep possession of the ball for long, with LBSU struggling the most in the final third. Despite this, The Beach held Cornell to just four shots all game and only one shot on goal.
The match was kept close by Cornell senior goalkeeper Erica Fox who saved six out of seven LBSU shots on goal to keep Cornell within one score all night.
The tension rose as the night went on. After Cornell conceded Johnson’s goal early in the second half they began to attack with urgency, but LBSU did not hold back creating a physical and entertaining match.
“Long Beach State is a good team,” Cornell head coach Rob Ferguson said. “They have very athletic players… they’re very well organized.”
The Beach delivered their victory on senior night, honoring players from the class of 2025.
The LBSU women’s soccer team finished the game with nine total shots but only managed to score one goal. They host UC Riverside on Saturday at George Allen Field hoping to protect home field undefeated. Photographed by Mark Siquig.
“It feels great, it was senior night and we celebrated our amazing senior class,” Ingrassia said.
The Beach will be looking to carry momentum into their opening Big West matchup versus UC Riverside on Sunday, Sep. 22 at 5 p.m. at George Allen Field.
LBSU has to be sure to not underestimate its opponents Sunday as the Highlanders come into the match with a three match losing streak and will be fighting hard to change that.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 4:21 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21 to correct a mistake in the player’s position in the teaser.
