On the back end of an exhausting stretch in its schedule, the No. 23 Long Beach State women’s soccer team lost to University of Central Florida and beat Florida International in its cross country road trip.
The 49ers (4-3-3) dropped the first game 1-0 Friday in Orlando against the University of Central Florida (6-2-0). The Knights continued their undefeated play at home, improving to 4-0 at home.
UCF’s senior forward Tatiana Coleman scored the lone goal of the rain-soaked match.
The 49ers managed to have only six total shots for the game and none on goal. This was UCF’s first win against a top-25 opponent since 2012.
“It was a tough match for sure,” head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said. “Because of the travel, rain, etc. But overall, I’d say we played well. Maybe we could have tied, but UCF has a lot of quality [players] and took their one [scoring] chance well.”
The 49ers recovered in Miami, where they played against Florida International (5-4-0) on Sunday. They tied their season high in goals scored with a 3-1 win over the Panthers. Junior forward Vania Robles scored her first two goals of the season, while junior Marie MacKenzie scored her first career goal in the 34 games she’s played in.
Sophomore forward Mimi Rangel and freshman midfielder Jessica Vincent were each credited with two assists. Rangel leads the team with five, with Vincent a close second with three.
Ingrassia pointed out Robles’ energy as a huge factor in the win, saying it had been building all game. Those were not only Robles’ first two goals of the season, but also the first two of her LBSU career.
Ingrassia said there were no major adjustments between games.. He felt they just needed to play their game.
“We just needed to be ourselves and focus on fighting through adversity,” Ingrassia said.
The 49ers will now return home and have a week to prepare for their next opponent, Santa Clara. This will be the last non-conference game on the schedule for LBSU before it starts conference play at home against Cal Poly.
“We want to get our legs back,” Ingrassia said. “It’s been a difficult schedule with all the travel on the back end of it. We’re going to work on our fitness and continue to work on everything that’s gotten us to this point.”