No. 1 Long Beach State (13-4-3, 7-0-1 Big West)
First-round opponent: Pacific, Thursday at George Allen Field at 2 p.m.
The 49ers, winners of their last five matches, enter the Big West Conference Tournament as the top seed and the No. 25 team in the nation, according to the NSCAA/adidas poll released Tuesday.
“Anybody from here on out will give us their best game,” head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said. “We didn’t have an easy time [the first game] and it should be another tough game.”
LBSU defeated the Tigers, 2-1, on Oct. 5, but the 49ers have never won a tournament match in three appearances.
Sophomore forward Kristin Kiefer was named to two national soccer teams of the week. Kiefer was honored by Soccer Buzz’s National Elite Team of the Week and Soccer America’s Team of the Week. The sophomore was also named the Big West Player of the Week on Monday after recording two goals and an assist in victories over UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly last week.
This season, sophomore midfielder Lindsay Bullock led the team with 10 goals, which ranked second in the conference. As a team, the 49ers led the Big West in goals (40), goals allowed (15) and shutouts (10).
President F. King Alexander purchased tickets for the first 200 students who show up with a valid student ID card.
No. 2 UC Santa Barbara (12-6-1, 5-2-1 Big West)
First-round opponent: Cal Poly, Thursday at Harder Stadium at 7 p.m.
The Gauchos have won three of their last four matches, including a 4-0 win over UC Irvine in the regular season finale to clinch the No. 2 seed.
UCSB, ranked as high as No. 20 this season, enters the match-up with a 4-2 victory on the road over the Mustangs on Oct. 19.
Junior forward Genelle Ives leads the Gauchos and ranks second in the Big West with 23 points (eight goals and seven assists).
UCSB is 2-1 in tournament semifinal matches, but 0-2 in the finals.
No. 3 Cal Poly (10-9, 5-3 Big West)
The Mustangs have never lost in a conference tournament semifinal, posting a 6-0 record in the first round.
As a team, Cal Poly led the Big West with 292 shot attempts. Individually, Ashley Vallis and Morgan Miller lead the Mustangs with five goals apiece.
If Cal Poly and LBSU meet in the championship match, past history would give the edge to the Mustangs. Cal Poly eliminated the 49ers the past two seasons.
No. 4 Pacific (10-7-1, 4-3-1 Big West)
The Tigers share one thing in common with first-round opponent LBSU: They have never won a conference tournament match. Pacific enters today’s match 0-3 in the tournament.
This is the first time in three seasons Pacific has qualified for the Big West Tournament.
Pacific is led by freshman forward Kristina Wavomba, who has scored a team-high eight goals this season.
*The highest remaining seed will host Sunday’s championship match at 1 p.m.
I want to see us take on Cal Poly on Sunday (I got the day correct this time). There’s nothing better than to seek redemption and the title against the one team that prevented you from winning a single postseason match, let alone the championship match. If it’s UCSB, I’m fine with that too. Whoever it is, the onus is on Mauricio’s crew to close the deal.