Beach rolling into late season

By Phil Witte
Daily Forty-Niner

After pulling out of a seven-game losing streak at the last possible moment to save the season, the Long Beach State women's soccer team is heading strongly into the final stretch with a three-game winning streak.

The 49ers (6-7-1 overall, 3-2-0 Big West Conference) currently sit in a three-way tie for second and to have a shot at a Big West title, they need to win the last three conference games, beginning with University of Idaho (9-6-0, 3-2-0 BWC) Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at George Allen Field.

Head Coach Julie Cochran gives much of the credit for the turnaround to the players.

"Every team has a different chemistry and the art of coaching is figuring out which buttons to push," Cochran said. "This group does better with less tactical knowledge because they play with more instinct. They have created an internal environment of competitiveness that they keep going, and sometimes I can just sit back and watch at practice."

The game Sunday will be a test of strengths, pitting the last two Big West players of the week against each other.

Sophomore Christina Anderson earned the honor by scoring two goals to lead the Vandals to two wins last week.

For the season, Idaho leads the Big West in scoring at 2.1 goals per game, and four Vandal players are among the top six individual scorers. In the 49ers' favor is the Vandals' 1-4 away record and a meager 1.2 goals per game in Big West play.

On the other side, strong defensive play and superlative efforts by redshirt goalkeeper Hannah Cochrun have led to the 49ers in the last four games. The Beach has outscored opponents 8-5 in Big West play this season.

Winning the final three conference games of the season is the plan for the 49ers,and Cochran said she is confident going into the home stretch.

"We can win if we continue to perform at the level we are at right now," Cochran said. "Maybe we can look back at those tough losses and see that was the adversity we had to overcome to end up winning.