The 15th-ranked Long Beach State women’s soccer team has gone to overtime twice in its first three games and emerged victorious both times.
Midfielder Eileen Maes scored the golden goal Sunday afternoon, bringing the score to 2-1 and leading the 49ers to a win over No. 24 Baylor. Just nine days ago, forward Ashley Roese came through in similar fashion to defeat Arizona.
Less that two minutes into overtime, Maes headed a free kick from defender Jordan Nelson into the back of the net and sent the 49er bench running onto George Allen Field in celebration.
“I kind of just got behind their defensive line and [the ball] came to me,” Maes said.
Maes’ heroics wouldn’t have been possible without defender Alex Balcer’s second goal of the season. In the 64th minute, Balcer took a free kick from 60 yards out and put it into the back of the net, just out of the grasp of Baylor goalkeeper Michelle Kloss. In last week’s game against Arizona, she scored on a similar shot from 40 yards out.
“I pick different places and choose different spots,” Balcer said. “The goal is always to put it on frame.”
Balcer now leads the team in goals, a statistic that surprises even Balcer herself.
“I never thought that I would score so close together,” she said. “I knew I would score again, but not this close together. I’m happy about that.”
Balcer’s goal was a quick and much needed response by the 49ers, who found themselves down for the first time this season before her strike. In the 59th minute, Baylor’s Dana Larsen gave the Bears a 1-0 lead by heading a ball to the near post and just out of the reach of 49er goalkeeper Marrina Meyers.
Meyers, who recorded her first collegiate shutout Friday night against St. Francis, had a much more difficult test this time around. The athletic and physical Baylor Bears provided most of the pressure in the first half but ultimately failed to score despite having strong winds behind them.
“We were going against the wind and they were a very direct team,” head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said of the first half. “We had a game plan that we had to follow and the kids followed it as a team.”
After two games against less challenging opponents to open the season, the ‘Niners (3-0-0) needed extra effort to pull out a win against the Bears (3-1-0).
“Mauricio put it to us that the first two games would be a test out our will, but this would be a true test of our character as a team,” Balcer said. That character certainly shined through, as the ‘Niners found themselves in an ultra-competitive environment for the first time since last November, when they advanced to the elite eight of the NCAA tournament.
“I finally saw life, I finally saw what they truly can be,” Ingrassia said of his team’s effort. “This had the real feel of what it means to be in a playoff atmosphere.”
The win ended a successful opening home series for the ‘Niners, who defeated Arizona, Saint Francis and Baylor en route to their first 3-0 start since 2006. They will now head to Utah for a road game against BYU before returning home to play Michigan.
“BYU is always a tough opponent,” Balcer said. “But I think having this secured and not having to focus on a loss – it’ll help carry us and lift our spirits.”
After defeating Baylor, LBSU can expect a bump in the national polls and an improvement over 15th-overall ranking. That ranking will be put to the test once again next week, but not quite to the level it was Sunday afternoon.