By snoadmin
Bumps and bruises made the Long Beach State women’s soccer team’s Big West road trip a tough outing. With ankle injuries to starters Kristen Kiefer and Grace Shevlin, head coach Mauricio Ingrassia turned to the bench for contribution.
“We had to have players step up,” Ingrassia said.”That’s why they’ve been training hard.”
LBSU did step up in the absence of two key players with the help of several other talents that had not seen the field often. Reserves like senior defender Amanda Perry, senior forward Katelyn Quaresma, junior defender Cat Gray and sophomore defender Jenn Brooks made up for the loss by helping lead the team to three consecutive road victories over the weekend.
With three of four Big West Conference road games completed, LBSU returns to George Allen Field with a 4-game winning streak and a conference lead that remains small, despite the hard-fought victories at Pacific, UC Davis and CS Northridge. Three of LBSU’s final four games are at home, where the 49ers are 4-1.
However, two major home games this coming weekend will dictate whether LBSU’s grip on the conference’s top spot is legitimate. CS Fullerton, last year’s conference champion, will visit George Allen Field on Friday, while a formidable UC Riverside team will visit on Sunday. LBSU only has a two-point lead over UCR in the standings, with three teams, including Fullerton, trailing as little as one game.
With that in mind, Ingrassia said he did not want to look at the home games as a “bit of relief” because of how close LBSU is to UCR in the standings.
“We want to win these two games and distance ourselves from the rest,” Ingrassia said. “You can say all you want about the road games we had, but we have to keep winning. We are going to maintain the same intensity.”
Kiefer and Shevlin remain day-to-day, according to Ingrassia. Reserve defender Tiffany Vaught is also out with a leg injury, and it is uncertain as to who will be available to compete this weekend.
“I hope one of them will get to play,” Ingrassia said.
LBSU’s three consecutive road wins were the longest in 21 years, dating back to the 1986 season under former head coach Graham Carr. Ironically, both streaks began on the same day, Oct. 5. Ingrassia said the team has “got some rhythm with other players,” and the uncertainty of how well the reserves would fare went away over the weekend.
“It is a credit to our team,” Ingrassia said. “They’ve been maintaining their fitness, and we’re better because of our tough schedule.”
The sights are now set on CSF and UCR, which are equal threats to the conference lead. CSF has been reeling as of late, losing three straight before shutting out Pacific 3-0 in its last game. Senior forwards Lauren Cram and Brianna Buffington continue to bolster the team’s offense, combining for seven goals this season.
Like LBSU, CSF holds decisive victories over Davis and Pacific this season, and something will have to give this Friday between the two squads. LBSU will look to avenge a 3-0 loss to CSF at George Allen Field in 2005, despite beating the Titans 1-0 in Fullerton last year.
UCR has to deal with CSUN before facing the 49ers, but the Highlanders are riding high and close to the conference’s top spot. UCR is 8-5-1 overall, but has had three of its last four games reach double-overtime.
Junior forward Tessa Lennala is one of the conference’s premier scorers, scoring eight goals with two game-winners this season. Lennala’s recent two-goal weekend helped her earn co-Big West player of the week honors.
LBSU midfielders Hayley Bolt and Kim Silos are just as effective as the other talents in the conference, combining for 10 goals and 11 assists this season.
