By Naoki Gima
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Beach ends the season in disappointment after falling to UC Irvine 3-0 in the Big West Championship game on Sunday.
This was a game where UC Irvine got off to a hot start and never looked back. The Anteaters scored three first half goals and held The Beach scoreless.
The first goal came at the seven minute mark, where forward Erin Covey would be assisted by Alex Jaquez and put the Anteaters in front early in the contest.
11/06/2022 – San Luis Obispo, Calif: Long Beach State women’s soccer player, Cherrie Cox (#8), makes a run down the sideline to be a pass option for her teammates during the Big West Championship game against Irvine. Photo credit: Naoki Gima
The second goal would come later in the half with Suus de Bakker would be assisted by Amber Huff, her first of two assists of the game.
The third goal came just before the half ended, with Huff again being involved, except this time it was Autumn Thompkins that would be the beneficiary.
The second half would see both teams come away scoreless. The defensive intensity of the Anteaters was just too much to overcome for The Beach.
11/06/2022 – San Luis Obispo, Calif: Long Beach State women’s soccer player, Elysia Laramie (#9), helps her teammate Julia Moore advance the ball down to field against UCI in the Big West Championship game. Photo credit: Naoki Gima
The Anteaters defense made it a focus to play physical and throw The Beach’s offensive players off their game.
Star Senior Forward, Lena Silano, came into the game with 16 goals and finished the game with only two shots and a foul.
Silano finished the season with a record-tying 16 goals this season along with 8 assists. She also made First Team All-Big West and was named the Offensive Player of the Year for the Big West.
Long Beach State Women’s soccer player Lena Silano in tears after losing to UC Irvine in the Big West Championship game. Photo credit: Naoki Gima
Freshman forward Cherrie Cox finished the game with three shots and two fouls. Cox made her presence known in her first year at Long Beach State and can be seen as the program’s building block over the next few seasons. She totaled five goals and five assists while earning Big West Freshman of the Year, an All Big-West Freshman team selection and an All-Big West Honorable mention.
11/06/2022 – San Luis Obispo, Calif: Long Beach State women’s soccer player, Cherrie Cox (#8), takes the ball down the middle to try and score against UCI in the Big West Championship game. Photo credit: Naoki Gima
After the loss, Long Beach State women’s soccer head coach, Mauricio Ingrassia, was the only person made available for the post-game press conference.
“Congratulations to Irvine, great performance and to come in as a six seed and pull off three wins. I think it shows that they’re at a high level,” Ingrassia said. “I’m very, very proud of my team. My team had a great season. Good run, just a little short.”
Coach Ingrassia mentioned his gratitude of the leadership of the team and is excited for the future of the program.
“We have some nice young talent and I also want to thank my seniors because they’re also a big part of the leadership and keeping the ship straight when it was rocky water. So really, really proud of our program right now,” Ingrassia said.
11/06/2022 – San Luis Obispo, Calif: The Long Beach State women’s soccer team clash with the University of California Irvine Anteaters in the box during a corner kick at the Big West Championship game on Sunday. Photo credit: Naoki Gima
