After Sunday’s 2-0 win over Army in the Under Armour Invitational in Fullerton, more than a few Long Beach State women’s soccer players had ice applied to their limbs.
The ice had several purposes - it provided quick relief from the triple-digit heat; it was a temporary cure for a few of the injuries the 49ers suffered over the weekend; and it was a feeble attempt to ease the burn and sting of a double-overtime loss to Texas Tech on Friday night.
No. 20 LBSU (6-3) will likely find itself unranked by mid-week, as it suffered its third loss of the season on Friday to an unranked Texas Tech team.
“The loss was a real punch to the face,” midfielder Eileen Maes said. “It just opens our eyes and makes us realize that nothing’s going to be given to us.”
After a scoreless first half, the 49ers and Red Raiders combined for four goals in 35 minutes. After Texas Tech’s Hayley Haagsma started the scoring in the 50th minute, Maes found the back of the net in the 57th and 71st minutes to put the ‘Niners ahead. Texas Tech didn’t give up, however, as forward Janine Beckie tied it up in the 85th minute and sent the game to overtime.
The first overtime passed without a goal, and it looked like the second would as well. But with 31 seconds remaining, Beckie forced a turnover and found herself one-on-one with 49er goalkeeper Marrina Meyers. Meyers never had a chance, as Beckie found the back of the net without a challenge and won the game, 3-2, for the Red Raiders.
“Their team came out with way more energy, and we couldn’t handle it,” Maes said. “But it’s a lesson learned.”
It appeared that for at least one half of Sunday’s game against Army, LBSU hadn’t learned any lessons just yet. The ‘Niners didn’t give up any goals, but they failed to create many chances for themselves and went into the locker room at halftime with a scoreless tie.
All it took to break that tie was head coach Mauricio Ingrassia’s decision to sub forward Jessika Oseguera into the game.
Oseguera started LBSU’s scoring in the 69th minute by crossing a ball in front of the Army goal to Maes, who tapped it to the right post and put the ‘Niners on the board. Twelve minutes later, Oseguera added a goal of her own and provided a bit of insurance for a team that has had trouble holding on to leads lately. The 49ers wouldn’t have any trouble this time, however, as they closed out the game without giving up a goal and won 2-0.
“It was a Sunday where we had spent a lot of energy on Friday, and our normal legs weren’t there for people that we normally count on,” Ingrassia said. “We really had to go deep into the bench and we found a team effort.”
The bench was also relied on to compensate for injures to a couple of key players. In Friday night’s game, midfielder Marie MacKenzie went down with an apparent knee injury and didn’t return to action. Then in Sunday’s game, midfielder Kelsey Wilson left after a collision with midfielder Taylor Nelson and was out for the remainder of the game.
“It just makes things more competitive,” Maes said of the injuries. “People will be competing for their spots now, and once they come back they’ll have to compete for their spots as well.”
The 49ers will have a change to regroup and recover before their next game, which will be against nonconference rival San Diego on Friday at George Allen Field.