By After being shutout at George Allen Field in a 2-0 loss against Cal State Fullerton Sunday, the Long Beach State women’s soccer team will hope to return to winning ways when it embarks on a two-game road trip to Cal Poly on Friday, and UC Santa Barbara on Sunday.
The 49ers (7-4-2, 1-1-1 Big West) have not seen a victory since their first game of Big West Conference play at home, where they dealt a 2-0 win over Hawai’i back on Oct. 1.
Since then, the 49ers have gone scoreless in the two games that followed, losing against the Titans and a 0-0 double-overtime draw at UC Irvine, despite totalling 35 shots in that stretch.
Senior forward Tori Bolden, who is the leading scorer of the team with three goals, is confident the scoring will return and the team will come out of the road trip with positive results.
“That was a really hard loss [against Fullerton],” Bolden said. “Especially since we had so many chances to win the game.”
With 16 goals this season, LBSU certainly has the firepower on offense to trouble opponents and get get on the scoresheet.
The 49ers matched up against both the Mustangs and the Banana Slugs last season, coming away with victories against both Big West Conference opponents.
LBSU narrowly defeated UCSB after now injured senior forward Ashley Gonzales converted a penalty in 67th minute of play to give the 49ers the 1-0 victory.
The match against Cal Poly was a little more hard-fought, but LBSU still managed to walk away with a 2-1 victory at George Allen Field with goals from Gonzales and forward Mimi Rangel.
This time around, LBSU will look to replicate last year’s success, but in order to do that, the team must find a way to convert shots into goals while cutting back on the sloppy play.
After the loss to the Titans, sophomore goalkeeper Mia Hummel praised her defense for working hard, but urged them to not give up costly uncharacteristic mistakes on the counter.
According to Bolden, the team morale is up despite the loss, and they have been been gearing up all week mentally to get through this scoreless streak.
“We have been preparing all week by making sure we are bringing the right intensity and mindset to practice,” Bolden said.
LBSU will be back at George Allen field at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 22 when it hosts UC Riverside.
