The Long Beach State women’s soccer team broke into the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top-25 rankings on Tuesday for the first time since September 2014.
The 49ers (3-1-0) currently stand at No. 23 in the nation. Head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said being nationally ranked is gratifying, but should not take any focus away from the team’s real objectives.
“Our goal is to win the conference and bring the conference tournament back to Long Beach,” Ingrassia said. “But yes, being recognized brings a greater awareness to our program and that helps with recruiting, helps attract big name opponents and helps to expand our fan base. It’s basically free publicity and you can’t beat that.”
LBSU impressed early in the season with a win against then No. 4 UCLA on Aug. 21 and a very narrow loss against Auburn on Aug. 23. Since then, the Bruins have dropped to No. 14 and the Tigers have moved up to No. 11.
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Ingrassia said the atmosphere around the team would remain the same despite receiving national recognition. He said that the culture at LBSU doesn’t leave room for egos.
“[The ranking] doesn’t change a thing for us, you will get our best effort on a daily basis,” Ingrassia said. “That has been established in our program for quite some time, and I’m very proud of that.”
The 49ers will visit the San Diego Toreros on Friday at 7:30 p.m.