From the Bench

Women's soccer team hosts UNLV

The Long Beach State women's soccer team hopes home cooking is the answer to snapping its five game losing streak and getting back on track before resuming Big West Conference play.

"This weekend will be a test for us. We will either turn the corner or continue to struggle," Coach Cochran said. "We're going to try to use the U.S. women's softball team as motivation. They lost a few games but still rallied back to win the gold."

The 49ers (3-5-1) will host UNLV (6-3) at 3:00 p.m. Friday at George Allen Field.

The Rebels won 3-1 in last year's only meeting. The 49ers will be playing against a team with an explosive offense that has scored two or more goals in all but one game.

On Sunday, Long Beach will resume conference play with a 1:00 p.m. game against UC Irvine (5-2-2) at George Allen Field.

The Anteaters won the last two meetings between the teams, winning 3-1 in 1999 and 2-0 in 1998. Irvine has struggled lately, scoring only one goal with a 1-1-2 record in four games.

"We're expecting a good game," Cochran said. "They have a lot of speed and are historically a physical team."

After the Irvine game, the team will face a stretch of six conference games, four of which are on the road.

"This weekend we'll see what we're made of," Cochran said.
-- Phil Witte

Cross country heads to Stanford

Riding the wave of a successful meet this past weekend at the Hawaii Invitational, the Long Beach State cross country team is looking forward to a challenge this Saturday at the Stanford Invitational.

"It's the kind of meet where we're going to see some tough teams," said Assistant Coach Dana Colligan Gutierrez. "It will be a challenge, but it'll bring a lot out of us."

On the women's side there is a deep field, she said.

Some of the top teams competing include Arkansas, Tennessee and UC Irvine.

"It will be a nice opportunity for the top two runners (seniors Mary Colburn and Christine Riel) to see where they fit in in the national scene," Colligan Gutierrez said.

The main competition on the men's side will come from Stanford and UCLA. She added that the first place finish at Hawaii will help boost the team's confidence. "They really will get pushed a great deal," Colligan Gutierrez said.

The 27th annual Stanford Invitational will be held Saturday at the Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, California.
-- Jennifer Umaña

Men's golf team in New York meet

The Long Beach State men's golf team is in New York competing in its second tournament of the season, the Mclaughlin Invitational hosted by St. John's University.

"Its such a great golf course," Coach Bob Livingstone said Tuesday. "It is only one of a couple of tournaments that shoot one round per day."   Livingstone also said the trip would give the team a chance to get used to the time change, as the nationals are held on the East Coast.

The team finished third in its first tournament this year.

"We want to win this one," Livingstone said. "It is not the strongest field (of teams) we will see this year."
 --Gerald Frazier

Women's golf team ties for seventh

The Long Beach State women's golf team finished tied for seventh (634) at the Lumberjack Invitational Invitational Tuesday at Elden Hills Gol Course in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Leading the way for The Beach was freshman Marie Louise Juul, who tied for fifth overall, shooting152. Fellow freshman Aileen Yao finished tied for 15th, shooting155.

Iowas State won the meet with a score of 603. The individual champion was Lise Chen of the University of San Francisco. She shot 145.
-- Staff reports