49ers roll past Nevada

By Jennifer Umaña
Daily Forty-Niner

Long Beach State women's soccer dominated the field for most of their home opener against the University of Nevada last Thursday. After a brief struggle, they finally emerged victorious, with a score of 1-0.

After 20 shots and 11 corner kicks failed to go in the net, the 49ers had yet to score.

"We just couldn't connect," said freshman forward Marcia Rewoldt.

With less than nine minutes left in the game, junior defensive back Amber Glende finally made the connection and scored.

Glende was assisted by Rewoldt and freshman forward Jordan Smith. The deciding goal marked the second of the season for Glende.

49er head coach Julie Cochran said after the game that her team's confidence was high going into the game since they knew Nevada's team is a first-year program.

"It's a little bit of a mental game," Cochran said. "They were feeling too confident. They know in their hearts that they're lucky they got a win."

Cochran added that the Wolf Pack played a good match.

The 49ers improved their record to 2-0-1, while the Wolf Pack fell to 0-2-0. This marks the second shutout of the season for Long Beach State sophomore goalie Jihan Elgazzar.

Cochran noted that the team has improved since last season, but that this is just the beginning.

"We've got a lot of hard work ahead," she said. "This is all preparation for the  Big West Conference."

Long Beach State continues non-conference play at home yesterday with a 2-0 win against Cal State Northridge.

The 49ers lost to the Matadors 0-1 in overtime when the two teams met last season.