49ers move one step closer to first-ever NCAA Tournament

Nobody can ask for a better birthday present than senior Hayley Bolt.

The No. 25-ranked Long Beach State women’s soccer team took one step closer to reaching the elusive NCAA Tournament, defeating the University of Pacific, 3-0, in the semifinal of the Big West Conference Tournament at George Allen Field on Thursday afternoon.

The victory was the first-ever conference tournament win in school history.

“[The win] meant so much not only for [us] seniors, but everyone,” Bolt said. “Getting past this hump, it took us three years to do it and it’s the sweetest feeling ever. It’s not over yet.”

Senior goalkeeper Liz Ramos added, “It is a little bit of relief. After the game, a couple of us were like ‘finally, the streak is over.’ We finally won a playoff game.”

It was also the first playoff win for fifth-year head coach Mauricio Ingrassia, whose senior class represents his first recruiting class at LBSU.

“We had a bum rap because we [were eliminated from the first round] two years ago with young kids, and last year we had had a lot of injuries,” Ingrassia said. “I’m very proud of the team. They were able to overcome all the obstacles to get this win.”

The top-seeded ‘Niners (14-4-3) will host the championship match Sunday at 1 p.m. at George Allen Field against No. 2 UC Santa Barbara. The winner earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

In the other semifinal, the Gauchos (13-6-1) defeated Cal Poly in a penalty-kick shootout Thursday night at Harder Stadium.

“Both teams are very good, and both teams — especially Santa Barbara — [play] very fast,” Bolt said.

The 49ers defeated the Gauchos in double overtime, 2-1, on Halloween night.

Bolt tallied two goals in the match, including the first on a direct kick from Yeraldy Hurtado with six seconds remaining in the first half.

“Getting the first goal was crucial,” she said. “It helped picked us up mentally. After getting the first goal, we told ourselves there’s no turning back.”

Bolt scored the final goal on a header off a Mariko Strickland assist in the 88th minute. Strickland also scored on senior Dana Farquhar’s cross less than two minutes earlier.

Pacific (10-8-1) actually out-shot LBSU, 11-10, but most of its attempts were in the second half, which kept Ramos busy in goal. Ramos finished with seven saves.

“We were up, 1-0, but then they were all over us in the second half,” said Ramos, who also credited the defense of Bo Rael, Sara Baca and Chantel Hubbard. “We weren’t connecting as well as we should’ve, and for us to be able to come out of that and then end up scoring twice in a row … if we can weather the storm, we’ll be fine.”

Ingrassia said he told Ramos, “You’re the best keeper I ever had.”

Although it was Bolt’s birthday, it was Long Beach State receiving the present from her and the rest of the team with the win.

“Today [in the locker room], we talked about what the program has done for us, what Long Beach State soccer has given to us,” Ramos said. “This moment is what we want to give back to the school.”