Aug. 22, 2012
2012 LONG BEACH STATE WOMEN'S SOCCER
Game No. 2
Friday, August 24, 2012 - 7 p.m.
vs. Saint Francis Red Flash
George Allen Field - Long Beach, Calif.
Game No. 3
Sunday, August 26, 2012 - 1 p.m.
vs. Baylor Bears
George Allen Field - Long Beach, Calif.
FIRST GOAL
The No. 15-ranked Long Beach State women's soccer team continues its three-game homestand this weekend at George Allen Field, hosting the Saint Francis Red Flash (1-0) on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Baylor Bears (2-0) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
THE COACHES
Long Beach State Head Coach Mauricio Ingrassia enters his ninth year at the 49er helm. In eight-plus seasons, Ingrassia's career record is 97-54-17, a winning percentage of .626 as he stands just three wins shy of reaching the 100-win plateau. Ingrassia is the all-time winningest coach at LBSU. A 1995 graduate from Cal State Fullerton, Ingrassia has guided the LBSU soccer program to one of the country's elite. Last season, Ingrassia guided the 49ers to the NCAA Elite Eight after capturing their second consecutive Big West Conference Tournament title and recording the program's first postseason victory at No. 7 Pepperdine. His teams have also made two postseason appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2008 and 2010 and also coached the 49ers to three Big West Conference regular-season titles (2006, 2007, 2008), two Big West Tournament championships (2010, 2011). He is the fourth all-time winningest coach in Big West history. Ingrassia is the school's seventh head coach in the program's 19 years.
Saint Francis Head Coach Brenda van Stralen enters her ninth season at the Red Flash helm. van Stralen has an eight year record of 74-59-23, all at Saint Francis. A native of Holland, van Stralen was voted the Northeast Conference Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2011 after guiding the Red Flash to its first-ever NEC regular season championship last year and first NSCAA regional ranking.
Baylor Head Coach Marci Jobson enters her fifth year with the Bears, compiling a four-year mark of 39-27-13. Jobson has an overall eight-year head coaching career mark of 62-54-22 as she previously coached at Northern Illinois. Jobson, a former U.S. National Team member (2005-07), guided the Bears to their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season, its first since 1999 and first ever postseason victory.
THE SERIES
This is the first-ever meeting between LBSU and Saint Francis. This will be the first visit to California for the Red Flash since 2006. This will be the second meeting between LBSU and Baylor, as the 49ers came away with a 3-0 victory back in 2007 at George Allen Field.
ABOUT SAINT FRANCIS
Saint Francis University, a member of the Northeast Conference, is located in Loretto, Pa., with an enrollment of 2,300. The Red Flash is 1-0 after defeating Duquesne, 1-0 at home. Redshirt junior forward Tesa McKibben led the Red Flash with its lone goal of the game against Duquesne and also turned in one assist. McKibben recorded 11 shots for the match, four of which were on goal. Senior goalie Brianna Butcher recorded seven saves in her shutout against Duquesne. The Red Flash comes out to California for a two-game trip, playing San Diego State on Wednesday, Aug. 22 before heading up to Long Beach on Friday. Saint Francis finished last season with an overall record of 12-6-3 and a conference record of 8-1-1, the best in team history and earning the program's first-ever Northeast Conference regular season championship. The Red Flash fell to Long Island in last year's Northeast Championship in penality kicks.
ABOUT BAYLOR
Baylor University, a member of the Big 12 Conference, is located in Waco, Texas, with an enrollment of 15,029. The Bears are off to a 2-0 start after defeating Rice, 1-0 in Houston and Northwestern State, 5-0 in Waco. Baylor comes out to California for a two-game road trip, playing at Cal State Northridge on Friday before playing the 49ers on Sunday afternoon. The Bears are led by junior forward Alex Klein as she leads the team with two goals and seven shots, five on goal. Redshirt sophomore Michelle Kloss has started for Baylor in front of the net with two saves. Baylor finished last season with an overall record of 15-4-3 and a conference mark of 10-1-1, falling to Missouri in the Big 12 Championship game in penalty kicks. The Bears advanced to the NCAA Second Round losing to North Carolina, 5-0. MOVING UP IN THE RANKINGS In the first regular-season top-25 poll that was released by the NSCAA (Aug. 21), the 49ers moved up three spots from 18th to 15th. LBSU also moved up in the latest Soccer America top-25 poll that was released on Aug. 21, as the 49ers went from 25th to 23rd.
49ERS WINS SEASON OPENER AT HOME
In the first official night game ever played at George Allen Field, LBSU won in dramatic fashion taking a 2-1 overtime decision over visiting Arizona. Sophomore forward Ashley Roese nettted the game-winner in the 93rd minute, shooting the ball from the middle of the box to the left corner of the net. Senior defender Alex Balcer scored the 49ers' first goal of the season in the 44th minute with a free kick from midfield that floated over the Wildcats' goalie and bounced right into the net.
INGRASSIA NEARING 100 WINS
Ninth-year head coach Mauricio Ingrassia is closing in on the century mark for career wins at LBSU. With the 49ers winning their season opener against Arizona last week, Ingrassia picked up win No. 97. He has led LBSU to a 10-plus win season six times.
LINK NAMED TO 2012 HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST
Senior forward Nadia Link was named named to the Missouri Athletic Club's (MAC) Hermann Trophy Watch Lists for 2012 that was announced by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and the MAC. The MAC Herman Trophy is the highest individual award in intercollegiate soccer presented annually in January during a banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. The Missouri Athletic Club has been presenting college soccer's players of the year awards since 1986. Each list will be narrowed down by NSCAA members from Division I programs to 15 semifinalists by November 29. Member coaches and fans will then vote for their top three choices and the finalists will be announced December 6. The winners will be announced at the awards' banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club on Friday, Jan. 11, 2013.
49ERS RECORD HISTORIC SEASON IN 2011
LBSU is coming off its best season in program history with the 49ers finishing with a record of 18-6-1, marking the program's sixth 10-win campaign in the last seven years. The 18 wins also eclipsed the previous single-season record of 16, which the 2006, 2008 and 2010 squads established. In addition, the 49ers shattered the school record for goals (49), assists (52) and points (150). The 49ers defended their Big West Conference Tournament title to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season (third in four years), and recorded the program's first three postseason victories allowing LBSU to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight.
49ERS PICKED TO WIN BIG WEST CONFERENCE
LBSU winners of the last two Big West Conference Tournament championships, were picked to finish in first place in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll. LBSU received nine of the 10 first-place votes for a total of 99 points. It is the first time since the 2007 season that the 49ers are favored to win the conference. LBSU captured five first-place votes (77 points) in 2007 and three votes (56 points) in 2006, when the 49ers were also picked to finish in first. UC Irvine was selected to finish in second, grabbing the other first place vote with 86 points, followed by Cal State Fullerton in third with 71. Cal State Northridge was picked fourth with 69 points, with UC Santa Barbara fifth with 53 points. Cal Poly grabbed the sixth spot (48), while UC Davis and Pacific were tied for seventh (44) and UC Riverside and conference newcomer Hawaii were paired for the ninth position (18).
LBSU EARNS NO. 18 RANKING IN NSCAA PRESEASON POLL
LBSU earned the preseason ranking of No. 18 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). The 49ers finished the 2011 campaign ranked 14th in the final NSCAA national poll, marking the first time in school history LBSU has been ranked at the end of the season. The 49ers were the only team from the Big West picked in the top 25 poll, while the Pac-12 (Stanford, UCLA) and West Coast Conference (Pepperdine, Santa Clara) had two teams each.
LINK, BALCER NAMED TO COLLEGE SPORTS MADNESS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAMS
Seniors Nadia Link and Alex Balcer were tabbed by College Sports Madness to its 2012 preseason All-America teams. Link was selected second team All-American, while Balcer was named fourth team All-American.
HOME SWEET HOME
LBSU ended the 2011 season with an impressive 10-1 home record at George Allen Field. The 49ers go into the 2012 schedule with a seven-game home winning streak as LBSU last lost at home on Sept. 9, 2011 versus California (2-0).
NEW ADDITIONS TO GEORGE ALLEN FIELD
There are several new additions to the 49ers' home facility, George Allen Field, as new lights were added in January and a new Daktronics scoreboard was constructed at the northeast corner of the field. George Allen Field is the first athletic field at LBSU to ever have lights and will enable the 49ers to practice and have games at night for the first time in school history. LBSU will play its first official game under the new lights on Friday, Aug. 24 versus Arizona.
WELCOME BACK HAWAII
The University of Hawaii returns to the Big West Conference in all sports except for football as it's newest member beginning this season. UH joins nine other members that are all located in the state of California. The Rainbow Wahine was previously a member of the Big West from 1984-96 before leaving for the Western Athletic Conference.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
LBSU takes to the skies for its first road trip of the season, traveling to Provo, Utah playing the BYU Cougars on Thursday, Aug. 30. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. PST.
