With a spot secured in the Big West Conference Tournament, the Long Beach State women’s soccer team will head to UC Riverside on Sunday for the final game of the regular season.
The 49ers (8-5-5, 4-1-2) are in the middle of an extended break after defeating Cal State Northridge during their final home game last Thursday.
LBSU’s reign in first place in the Big West standings didn’t last long once Cal Poly won its fourth consecutive game on Sunday. The Mustangs are the only team that has defeated the 49ers in conference play.
Senior defender Taylor Nelson called for an impromptu team meeting before traveling to Hawai’I; the meeting was led by the coaching staff and a few players at the turning point in the team’s season. At the time, they were just 1-1-2 in conference play.
“If we don’t win, we’re out of it,” Nelson said. “We needed to stay focused, and that’s what we did. We got it done.”
Nelson said one of the more vocal players during the meeting was fellow senior defender Natalie Zeenni.
“We knew we had to get the two wins [against Hawai’i and UC Davis] on the road,” Zeenni said. “We had to perform. We had to win. When we had that mentality, we already knew we’re going to win. We’ve put it in our heads for a week-and-a-half and played like we knew how to play. In the beginning of conference we weren’t really doing that.”
The 49ers will travel to UCR for their final regular season game. The Highlanders (7-7-3, 2-4-1) are on the outside looking in at the Big West Tournament from fifth place in the standings.
A win would give them a chance to sneak into the tournament. They will have the benefit of playing at home, where they are 5-1-0, with their only loss coming against Big West leader, Cal Poly.
UCR is led by senior midfielder Celina Valencia and sophomore forward Blanca Barrio, each of whom are tied with the team-leading four goals. Junior forward Tyler Cunningham leads the team in assists with nine.
The Highlanders feature a diverse offense, with 16 different players scoring at least one goal. That number is more than double that of LBSU, with only seven 49ers scoring at least one goal.
The 49ers will face UCR on Sunday at 2 p.m.