Soccer, Sports, Uncategorized

LBSU claims dramatic overtime win against Bucknell

In a game the 49ers were expected to win, nothing came easy for the LBSU women’s soccer team in its 1-0 overtime victory on Sunday at George Allen Field.

Coming off a victory against Iowa State on Friday, the 49ers (3-1-0) dominated the ball throughout the match. The 49ers outshot Bucknell 18-3 leaving their goalkeeper Ashton McKeown with little to do but watch as her teammates desperately tried to find a way to score.

“It’s one of those things. You go through adversity and you just have to find a way to get it done,” head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said. “I’m happy for the kids because they found a way.”

LBSU was unable to capitalize on their opportunities for 90 minutes, forcing the overtime. But the 95th minute, freshman Fatmata Kamara finally broke the tie, scoring on a free kick. Her teammates immediately stormed the field in celebration, dashing Bucknell’s hopes of escaping with an unexpected tie.

“During halftime, J.J. [assistant coach Jeff Joyner] said any time you get a free kick I know you have a good foot, get on it,” Kamara said. “I had watched Real Madrid play and James Rodríguez took the same shot, just opposite foot, so I was like here’s my chance.”

Ingrassia’s growing confidence in Kamara has been apparent; The San Jose native saw her playing time increase from 43 total minutes in LBSU’s first three games to 50 minutes on Sunday alone. He was rewarded with Kamara’s first career goal at Long Beach State.


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“I started crying,” Kamara said. “I’m very happy, I’m very excited. I’m working my way up with more goals to come.”

Bucknell (1-2-1) was proficient on the defensive side of the field. Their defensive efforts offset junior midfielder Mimi Rangel’s five shots, which included a miraculous save in the 31st minute by Bison goalkeeper Jessica Ratner.

In the 33rd minute LBSU had another opportunity to break through and score. Freshman midfielder Rocio Rodriguez perfectly executed a header off of a corner kick, however Ratner was there yet again, and made a second diving save. Ratner totaled 7 saves on the day.

For all its endurance on defense and heroics in goal, Bucknell was practically nonexistent on offense, leading to a majority of the game played in its own half. The Bison had zero shots on target and one corner kick in 95 minutes.

The Bison were also down to just 10 players by the 75th minute after junior defender Kelsey Witt received her second yellow card of the game.

The win gives the 49ers some momentum as they prepare to face San Diego, Portland State, and Loyola Marymount over the next two weeks before a much-anticipated, televised match-up against USC in mid-September.

LBSU will travel to the University San Diego for its next game against the Toreros on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

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