By The Long Beach State women’s soccer team will travel to San Diego on Monday looking to follow up Thursday’s late-game 1-0 win over San Francisco with one last dramatic finish in its final non-conference game this season.
The 49ers (6-3-0) will embark on a three-game road trip this week beginning with Monday’s non-conference schedule-concluding game against USD (6-4-0). The ‘Niners will head to Cal Poly on Friday and UC Santa Barbara on Sunday to begin conference play.
The Toreros are 3-3 in their past six games while the 49ers have won three games straight and six of their last seven. Thursday’s win over USF was the ‘Niners’ fourth consecutive win at home.
A scoreless stalemate between LBSU and USF finished with another late-game winning goal for the 49ers at George Allen Field on Thursday night.
The ‘Niners and Dons (5-3-2) battled for the game’s first goal all the way up until the 86th minute, when LBSU freshman Celeste Dominguez scored her first career goal and ultimately secured the team’s second consecutive 1-0 shutout.
LBSU beat Brigham Young 1-0 on Saturday with a goal 13 minutes into the first half, spending nearly the entire game defending its lead. On Thursday, however, the ‘Niners spent all but four minutes of the game chasing their only goal against USF.
“I think we were rewarded for going after the game for so long,” head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said. “I’m just really happy about how we were really pressing [in the second half].”
Ingrassia said he thought defender Natalie Zeeni coming off the bench in the second half was what ignited the team to apply increased pressure on USF’s offense, which led to more opportunities for LBSU to score.
“I really liked the way that Zeeni came in and really gave us a spark in the second half,” Ingrassia said. “I think she really carried the team forward.”
Goalkeeper Kaci McCain remained untouchable against the Dons, recording her third shutout this season. McCain has allowed only two goals in her last five starts.
While the 49ers’ defense has helped notch back-to-back shutouts in the team’s last two games, its opponents have limited the‘Niners to only a goal in each of those games. Ingrassia said he’s happy to see the team winning but would also like to see the offense make more happen.
“We’ve got to keep getting better,” Ingrassia said. “We’ve got to start putting up more chances.”
Monday will be the fourth meeting between the ‘Niners and Toreros over the past three years. The ‘Niners dropped the first nine decisions in the all-time series before winning the last three, including a match in the sweet 16 of the 2011 NCAA tournament.
The Toreros are led by Long Beach native Emily Dillon, who has scored five goals on 27 shots so far this year.
LBSU and San Diego will square off at 7 p.m. on Monday at Torero Stadium.
