By snoadmin
As most of the Long Beach State women’s soccer team watched the NCAA Tournament selection show at Regina’s restaurant in Garden Grove, the results were not what the team had hoped for.
LBSU (14-5-1, 6-2-1) was hoping to receive one of 34-at large bid given to teams that did not win its conference, but the women’s soccer selection committee left the 49ers out of the 64-team field.
“We are all a little down right now, but this is going to be great motivation for us in the off-season and next season,” said LBSU head coach Mauricio Ingrassia.
Ingrassia was quick to point out this was the most successful season in LBSU history.
“The team should be really proud of themselves. We accomplished a lot this season and we still have a very young team,” Ingrassia said.
LBSU won more games than it ever has in its history this season (14), and for the first time ever the 49ers won the Big West regular season championship.
Ingrassia said his team didn’t do everything it could.
“I think the committee sent a message,” Ingrassia said. “We got to do better in the conference tournament.”
The 49ers are losing only two seniors from the 2006 squad and Ingrassia said he is bringing in a very talented recruiting class for 2007.
“We have a lot to look forward to. We are going to be a little bit older next year and we have some great new players coming into the program,” Ingrassia said.
One issue Ingrassia is addressing next year is scheduling.
This season, LBSU traveled up and down the West Coast, but played only two teams that were not in the Western region.
According to Ingrassia, playing teams just from the West causes problems because the teams beat up on each other and makes if difficult for teams in the West to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
“Next year we are going to play Clemson and Wake Forest to start the year,” Ingrassia said. “It is difficult, though, to schedule teams from outside our area because of budget constraints.”
Unlike last year, when the West region had 10 at-large teams invited to the NCAA Tournament, only seven at-large teams from west of the Rocky Mountains were invited this year. Counting the conference winners, 13 teams from the West will compete in the NCAA Tournament.
Maybe the most notable snub from the tournament was Oregon, which finished second in the Pac-10 and beat UCLA and USC last week, both of whom were invited to the tournament.
“I thought Oregon was a lock and USC was going to be a close call,” Ingrassia said. “The ACC getting seven teams and the West getting only 13, it was just a weird day.”
Cal State Fullerton, which won the Big West Tournament, will be the only team to represent the Big West in the NCAA Tournament. It meets Loyola Marymount at UCLA on Friday.
Long Beach State women’s soccer firsts, • School-Record for victories (14) • Tied School-Record for Big West victories (5) in fewer matches • First-ever Big West title • First-ever Big West tournament hosting opportunity • School-Record for shutouts (13) • Highest ever national ranking (No. 20)… seven weeks ranked in
Long Beach State women soccer records • Goals scored (32-tied) • Assists (33) • Fewest goals against (13) • Best goals against average (0.63)
