By Jack Haslett
The Big West women’s soccer preseason favorites, Long Beach State, could not find a way to counter the visiting UCLA Bruins as it dropped its first match of the season 3-0 on Thursday, Aug. 15 at George Allen Field.
UCLA dominated the first half, maintaining possession of the ball and taking 13 shots, while The Beach managed just one shot on goal, delivered by junior forward Liz Worden.
“I thought the first half we were unorganized with a lot of new players,” head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said.
Senior midfielder Emma Egizii led the way for the relentless Bruin offense. Egizzi scored the first goal of the game in the 13 minute after rebounding a shot from junior forward Bridgette Marin-Valencia.
Senior midfielder Emma Egizii drives past two Long Beach State defenders and slid the ball past Junior LBSU goalkeeper Aurora Schuck for the goal, giving UCLA a 3-0 lead. Egizii scored two goals off of her two shot on goals as UCLA beat Long Beach State 3-0 at George Allen Field on August 15. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
The Bruins’ second goal came eerily similar to the first. UCLA freshman forward Bella Winn shot on goal where it again deflected off junior goalie Aurora Schuck.
In the ensuing chaos Marin-Valencia popped the ball into the back of the net to put UCLA up two goals to none.
A save from Schuck soon after the second goal kept the Bruins from going up three in the first half. Schuck would finish the match with nine total saves and three goals allowed.
The Beach seemingly had no defense for the unrelenting Bruins who entered this match ranked 11 in the country.
UCLA continued to maintain possession of the ball for most of the match and swiftly gained the ball back anytime The Beach managed to bring the ball across midfield toward the Bruins’ goal.
Egizii shined again in the 39-minute mark as she started her run at midfield and carved through the Long Beach defense in the closing minutes of the first half and launched the third Bruin goal of the game into the net.
Halftime did little to stop UCLA’s near-constant presence on the Long Beach side of the field, but The Beach came out ready to battle on defense, holding UCLA to just five total shots compared to 13 in the previous half.
Freshman middle fielder Malea Johnson gets cornered by three UCLA defenders as she tries to maintain position and give Long Beach State their first goal. However, Long Beach State lost to No. 11 ranked UCLA 3-0 at George Allen Field. on August 15. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
“A different change of mentality, for sure,” freshman midfielder Malea Johnson said. “I didn’t like our energy in the beginning, but then we fixed it and then we played completely different.”
One of LBSU’s three total shots in the game came when Johnson launched a shot from near midfield that sailed through the air with scoring potential before passing just above the crossbar of the goal, a bright spot in a game where positives were hard to come by.
The Beach plays again on Sunday, August 18 against the University of San Diego at 1 p.m.
“This is a really good learning experience for us,” Worden said. “Obviously we want to win, but soccer is not always about that. So we’re gonna take this game and learn from it.”
