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sports
49ers sit atop
Big West after 3-0 win over Idaho
By Phil Witte
On-line Forty-Niner
The long hours
in the weight room, the grueling two-a-day practices and the
shuffling of positions are starting to pay dividends for the
Long Beach State women's soccer team.
LBSU scored three
goals for the second straight game, easily knocking off Idaho
3-0 Sunday at George Allen Field.
The victory improved
the 49ers' record to 3-5-1, 2-0 in the Big West Conference
-- the first time in program history The Beach has opened
the conference campaign with two wins. Idaho's falls to 6-4-3,
0-1-1 in the Big West.
"It wasn't
a pretty victory, but we played hard," LBSU Head Coach
Peter Reynaud said. "We battled for everything today."
For the second straight
game, the 49ers scored in the game's opening minutes -- this
time two minutes into the contest.
Diana Sanguinetti's
free kick from just outside the penalty box was saved by Vandal
goalkeeper Jenell Miller, but the rebound fell right to Shanna
Wender, who knocked it in from six yards out for her first
collegiate goal.
"I told [Diana]
to get it on goal and I'd be there waiting for a rebound,"
Wender said.
The Beach dominated
play in the first half before doubled its lead in the 29th
minute. Kristin Travis lost the ball on a goal-bound run,
but it fell directly to Caitlyn Murphy, who coolly slotted
the ball into the lower left corner from 10 yards out.
LBSU outshot Idaho,
15-2, for the half, and the Vandals did not put a shot on
goal until the 43rd minute.
The second half
was a reverse of the first, with the Vandals attacking early
and often.
Minutes into the
half, both Sarah April and Jennifer Kiebel got the ball past
Elgizzar, but were both denied, April by a wall on the goal
line and Kiebel by the crossbar.
Both teams enjoyed
attacking forays, but neither produced many genuine scoring
chances, as most shots went high or wide. Sarah Melby did
force a tough save from Elgizzar midway through the second
half and 49er Abie Curry sent Vandal goalkeeper Tricia Haynes
into a diving save late in the contest.
"In the first
half we were excellent, but in the second we played poorly,
probably we were a little tired," Reynaud said. "We
came out fast and tried to tire them out, but to be brutally
honest, we were lucky they didn't score in the second half."
Alison Wiegand iced
the game with 19 seconds to go when she put away a loose ball
from the edge of the six-yard box. The goal was the freshman's
second of the season.
Elgizzar was only
forced to make two saves in recording her second shutout of
the season and 11th of her career.
"The key to
the shutout today was everyone playing transition defense
as a team," Elgizzar said. "Everyone made it back
on defense and made sure there were no unmarked people able
to shoot."
Next up for The
Beach is a nonconference game against University of San Diego
Wednesday at George Allen Field. Game time is 3 p.m. The 49ers
have never defeated the Gaels in the program's three years,
scoring only once and allowing 12 goals.
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