They are one step away from shedding the label of “Big West bridesmaids.”
For Hayley Bolt, Kim Silos, Liz Ramos and the rest of the seniors on the 49er squad, the 3-0 shutout of Pacific in the Big West Conference tournament semifinals somewhat eases the heartbreak of three consecutive first-round exits in conference tournament play.
Bolt, whose birthday was on the date of the semifinal match, celebrated the occasion by netting two goals to lift LBSU to the school’s first-ever conference tournament win. The team plays UC Santa Barbara on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the championship match, with a chance to capture the first NCAA tournament bid in the program’s brief existence.
“This game meant so much, not just the seniors, but the juniors, sophomores, everyone,” Bolt said. “We put so much time into it. It’s taken three years to do this so it’s a sweet feeling.”
The match itself featured a clash of styles between LBSU’s speed and Pacific’s physicality. The Tigers committed 18 fouls to the 49ers’ 14. LBSU defender Chantel Hubbard, and Pacific defenders Laura Hogan and Chelsea Gomes were each booked with yellow cards in the match.
Bolt had the side of her jersey ripped after a hard play, but managed to slot the match’s first goal, anyway.
“They’re really strong and knocked us down,” she said. “But we proved we can get our jerseys torn, pinched and hit, but we still pulled through.”
Head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said his players’ discipline allowed them to prevail.
“I thought our kids did a good job battling through and staying composed,” he said.
That composure allowed LBSU’s defense to shine as usual, keeping Tigers leading scorer Kristina Wavomba in check for much of the match. The 49ers shadowed Wavomba, marking her with multiple defenders, including the likes of Hubbard, Bo Rael and Sara Baca.
The team was also effective at cutting off Pacific’s passing lanes, rarely allowing the Tigers’ strikers to receive the ball in a position to score. Balls that did leak through the defense were cleaned up by Ramos, who made crucial saves when LBSU was nursing a one-goal lead.
“She’s the best goalkeeper I ever coached,” Ingrassia said. “She didn’t need to make a lot of fantastic saves, so she’s got to be ready and focused for that time that she’s called upon.”
In the end, Pacific defenders appeared to run out of gas. LBSU midfielder Mariko Strickland found ample space inside the box to score off Dana Farquhar’s cross in the 86th minute, before setting up Bolt in the 88th, allowing the 49ers to pull away.
The 49ers sent a message to the NCAA selection committee that they are deserving of an at-large bid, should the team fail to win the tournament. If by some chance LBSU loses on Sunday and gets shafted by the committee, the seniors on this team can at least hang their heads high, knowing that they’ve set the foundation for a program that will be competitive on the national stage for years to come.
“This moment is our way of giving back to our school,” Ramos said. “It makes this so much sweeter for the eight seniors [from Ingrassia’s first recruiting class].”
It is hard to believe that the program was virtually non-existent in 1998. Ten years later, the team is one win away from punching a ticket into the big dance. One win away from letting the college sports world know that Long Beach State soccer has finally arrived.
Well, well, well, Danny. It would be soooo easy to give Long Beach State an at-learge berth regardless of the outcome. But I am going to argue that the paragraph regarding the selection committee could end up becoming the most foolish piece of sports writing/prognostication since Patrick Creaven did the same ill-advised thing two years ago regarding our semifinal loss to Cal Poly. I still haven’t forgiven him for that, and I won’t until our bridesmaides become the brides (thanks for picking up my quote; maybe I’ll need to demand royalties next time [kidding, by the way]).
I understand your intention, but while I agree with most of your article, I am not very pleased with that article regardingus being an at-large team by the selection committee or any talk whatsoever regarding that. I already have a bone to pick with Creaven regarding his speculation, and no offense, but I am disappointed that you have chosen to follow the same route.
I hope that for your sake, as well as our team’s sake and this university’s, that that third-to-last paragraph becomes moot when all is said and done tomorrow.