A draw and a win against two non-conference opponents on Sunday allowed the Long Beach State women’s soccer team to remain undefeated at home.
The 49ers (3-2-1) entered the weekend ranked No. 23 in the country and played similar games against San Diego (1-3-2) and Cal State Bakersfield (0-5-1).
The 49ers’ inability to finish easy shots cost them against a strong opponent in USD. The most egregious miss came from star freshman forward Ashley Gonzales, who found herself one-on-one with the keeper, but shot poorly.
Head coach Mauricio Ingrassia thinks his team was more aggressive in looking for shots versus Bakersfield than they were against San Diego. He singled out his star freshman forward Ashley Gonzales, who scored both goals in the 2-0 against Bakersfield.
“I think Ashley was a little more aware of her spacing,” Ingrassia said. “She didn’t rush it. She’s adding more to her repertoire. She’s understanding there’s more space than in a youth game; the field is a little bit bigger.”
Gonzales noted that Mimi Rangel was key in helping her score her first goal in yesterday’s game.
“Mimi [Rangel] played me the ball,” Gonzales said. “I saw the defender behind me [and] was actually going to shoot it but saw the keeper take out my near post, so I just cut in and finish with my left foot.”
Ingrassia said he loves the way his defense is performing, and that the goals that have been scored against them were flukes, more than anything else. Senior defender Taylor Nelson credits keeper Ashton McKeown with the consecutive clean sheets.
“A lot of practice, a lot of repetition,” Ingrassia said. “Ashton’s worked her butt off all summer, and it’s obviously showed.”
After a physical game against USD, some 49ers admitted that it is not always easy getting up for what some may consider lesser opponents, like Bakersfield. Nelson explained some of the differences.
“The speed of play is different,” Nelson said. “The intensity is different; it shouldn’t be, but it is. We try our best to stay as glued in like when we play those huge schools, which you have to be or else it’ll bite you in the ass. It’s a challenge, but we managed to deal with it today.”
Their upcoming schedule is about to get much harder, and Ingrassia stressed that they still have to do a better job scoring goals when the chances present themselves.
“We have to keep on working on finishing,” Ingrassia said. “Finishing final third stuff. We need to create more chances.”
The 49ers went into the weekend ranked No. 23 in the nation, which is highest they’ve been ranked so far this season. When asked if he thought his team did enough over the weekend to maintain their spot in the top-25, Ingrassia brushed it off and said the team’s focus was on other things.
“We’re worried about keeping it simple,” Ingrassia said. “Trying to improve game by game. Today we scored our goal in the first half, so it’s progress.”