LBSU women’s soccer picks up points at Cincinnati and DePaul
By Josh Barajas, Sports Editor
Thanks to a last minute goal, the Long Beach State women’s soccer team drew 2-2 against Cincinnati on Thursday, and then followed that up with a 1-0 win at No. 21 DePaul in Chicago on Sunday.
The Bearcats (5-2-2) dominated LBSU (5-2-3), outshooting them 17-8 and accumulating seven more corner kicks. Junior goalkeeper Ashton McKeown’s eight saves kept the game close.
The 49ers were down 2-1 with 38 seconds left in the game when sophomore forward Victoria Bolden headed in the equalizer, forcing overtime. Both teams remained scoreless in extra time to end the match in a tie.
LBSU jumped on the board first in Cincinnati after freshman defender Alyssa Alvarez smashed her own rebound into the back of the net in the 34th minute.
Bearcats’ forward Kelsey Parrinello answered 10 minutes later by getting on the end of a low cross to tie the game at one.
Cincinnati took a momentary lead on defender Kelly Latimer’s penalty in the 72nd minute before the Bearcats allowed the last minute goal to Bolden.
The 49ers took the momentum from the draw against Cincinnati into Sunday’s game against No. 21 DePaul (6-2-2).
Sophomore striker Ashley Gonzalez scored the only goal of the game in the 59th minute. After a handball in the box from a Blue Demon defender, Gonzalez stepped up to the penalty spot and slotted in her seventh career game-winning goal.
The win against DePaul was the 49ers’ first win on the road this season, and their first overall since a 6-0 win against Portland State on Sept. 6.
After three weeks on the road, LBSU finally returns home to take on No. 8 BYU on Saturday at George Allen Field at 7 p.m.
LBSU men’s water polo ends weekend tournament with sixth place finish
By Kayce Contatore, Assistant Sports Editor
The No. 6 Long Beach State men’s water polo team took home a sixth place finish in the Kap7 NorCal Tournament in Palo Alto over the weekend.
LBSU kicked off the weekend advancing into the top eight of the tournament by defeating No. 11 UC San Diego 11-6 on Saturday. Senior utility player Dimitrios Lappas scored a hat trick to lead the 49ers over the Tritons.
The 49ers tried to carry the momentum from the win into their match against No. 3 Stanford, but ultimately fell to the Cardinal 11-4.
Stanford dominated the match early, leading 4-0 at the half before the 49ers attempted to fight back, scoring their first goal in the third quarter. Despite LBSU’s efforts, Stanford was able to match every point scored by the 49ers throughout the entire match.
On Sunday, it took three overtimes for the 49ers to take down No. 7 UC Irvine, 12-11.
LBSU had a 9-8 lead over the Anteaters late in the fourth quarter, but senior driver Jared Osborn scored the game-tying goal for Irvine with just 17 seconds left. Both teams traded points in the first two over-time sessions. In the third overtime, senior defender Zacchary Kappos scored the game-ending goal in sudden death.
The 49ers moved on to play for fifth place against No. 5 UC Santa Barbara. It was the third matchup with the Gauchos of the season; UCSB took the first game 7-6 on Sept. 5 and LBSU won the rematch 11-8 on Sept. 12.
UCSB had a 7-4 lead at the end of the second quarter and held back against a late 49er comeback to win 8-7. The 49ers finished in sixth place with a 2-2 record in the NorCal Tournament.
LBSU next takes on USC on Sept. 26 at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center in Los Angeles.