After a relatively successful start to the season, the Long Beach State women’s soccer team will host Iowa State and Bucknell at George Allen Field this Friday and Sunday.
The 49ers (1-1-0) surprised a record-breaking crowd by defeating No. 4 UCLA on Friday and controlling Auburn for 100 minutes on Sunday before losing in the second overtime. Regardless of the loss, junior midfielder Mimi Rangel said her team was delighted with the way her team played at the start of the season.
“Overall I think our team did fantastic this weekend,” Rangel said. “Even though we didn’t get the result [against Auburn] we played really good soccer. And that’s what we’re trying to go for.”
The 49ers know little about their upcoming rivals. Having never met the Iowa State Cyclones (2-0-0) or the Bucknell Bison (1-0-1) on the field before, the players and coaches only have numbers and film to look at.
“I just know that Iowa State has a winning record,” sophomore midfielder Jessica Vincent said. “And they’re undefeated, so that’s a big game for us to come out and win at our home field.”
The Cyclones belong to the Big 12 conference, but have failed to finish near the top spot in recent years. Last season, with a young squad, they went 1-7-0 in their conference. This season, Iowa State is hopeful that the returning players can provide a solid foundation for the team.
Two players to watch for on Iowa State are the senior duo in midfield, Haley Albert and Lindsay Frank. Albert netted a goal in each of the Cyclones’ first two games and Frank bagged another one on Sunday’s 3-0 win over South Dakota.
As far as Bucknell, the 49ers know even less.
“Bucknell, I’m not sure what their record is, but I looked up their season last year and they did decent, nothing too crazy,” Rangel said.
The Bison are part of the rather obscure Patriot League. They will travel over 2,600 miles from Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to play Loyola Marymount on Friday and the 49ers on Sunday.
Leading Bucknell will be senior midfielder Madison Loos. As a box-to-box engine in the midfield, Loos led the Bison with five assists last season and added two goals in 21 games in 2014.
This weekend the 49ers will take note of the oppositions strengths, but the primary focus will be to impose the LBSU style of play early.
“Come game day, we’ll keep in mind who some of the [Iowa State and Bucknell] key players are, what it is they like to do,” Rangel said. “The ultimate goal is to have the other team adjust to us. We’re always going to play our game; we’re not going to let anybody else dictate how we play.”
According to head coach Mauricio Ingrassia, sophomore center back Allie Emmons should be ready to go against this weekend after dislocating her shoulder against UCLA.
LBSU starts the weekend off by hosting Iowa State at 7:30 p.m. The 49ers then take on Bucknell on Sunday at noon. Both games will be played at George Allen Field at CSULB.