By A lack of clinical finishing deflated Long Beach State women’s soccer in its 2-0 loss to the Cal State Fullerton Titans at George Allen Field on Sunday.
Five minutes into the rivalry match, The Beach’s junior midfielder Julia Moore went down holding her left knee after the ball was stolen from her in Titan territory. Moore was carted off the field and did not return.
“Our captain went down what looks like a bad knee injury, and we had a ton of injuries all year long,” LBSU head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said.
The Beach and the Titans combined for 10 shots in the first 30 minutes of the game, which was end-to-end.
Long Beach State sophomore defender Kana Uchida crosses it to a teammate on Oct. 20 at George Allen Field. The Beach could not contain the rival Fullerton Titan’s offense as they lost 2-0. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
Fullerton broke the game open when redshirt junior midfielder Jenae Perez lofted a ball over the outstretched arms of the redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Aurora Schuck to give the Titans a 1-0 lead.
The Titan defense swarmed The Beach; even with six shots compared to Fullerton’s five, the three saves by Fullerton’s redshirt junior goalkeeper Mia Ranson kept them LBSU off the board.
After five minutes, the second half began with a quick penalty when sophomore forward Kaylee Noble broke into The Beach’s 18-yard box and was fouled inside the box by sophomore LBSU defender Zoe Willis.
Noble converted the penalty, giving the Titans a 2-0 lead in the 47th minute as Fullerton continued to build onto its lead.
Long Beach State sophomore defender Zoe Willis (right) chases Fullerton forward Kaylee Noble (left) during the first half on Oct. 20. Willis played 90 minutes for The Beach; however, Long Beach State fell to the Fullerton Titans 2-0 at George Allen Field. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko.
The Beach continued to push the pace, and in the 70th minute, redshirt junior midfielder Makayla Demelo got the ball on the Titans’ side of the field after a quick steal.
Demelo battled with a Fullerton defender clinging to her left side and tried to deliver a sliding pass to junior forward Liz Worden, but it missed the mark.
Demelo stayed on the ground, eventually limping off the field, and she did not return to check back into the game.
Fullerton junior midfielder Isabella Cruz (left) battles against redshirt junior middle fielder Makayla Demelo (right) to keep the ball in play and give their respective teams possession. Long Beach State fell 2-0 to the rival Fullerton Titans on Oct. 20 at George Allen Field. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
LBSU made two last-ditch efforts to get back in the game but couldn’t connect, as Fullerton held on to win 2-0.
“Hopefully, we can just regroup, and the good thing is that it’s a one-game week,” Ingrassia said.
Fullerton (3-3-2) is now tied with UC Davis (3-2-2) in fifth place, with each team having 11 points.
With the division loss to the Titans, The Beach (3-4-1) drops to seventh place with 10 points and falls one spot shy of a playoff spot.
LBSU travels next to UC Irvine on Oct. 27 at 6 p.m. as they make their final push before The Big West Championship.
