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sports
Final home game
ends with 3-1 loss
By Mike Haubrich
On-line Forty-Niner
Long Beach State
honored five of its women soccer players who played the final
home games of their careers Sunday at George Allen Field,
but it was a UC Santa Barbara freshman that stole the show.
UCSB's Jen Borcich
recorded a goal and an assist in a 20-second span of the first
half to give the Gauchos a quick lead and scored her second
goal of the game just over ten minutes later to put the game
away.
Borcich's effort
led UCSB (9-6-1 overall, 5-1 Big West Conference) to a 3-1
decision over the host 49ers (4-9-2, 3-3-1) which moved the
Gauchos into a tie for the Big West lead with Cal State Fullerton.
Borcich scored
her first goal in the 9th minute after getting to a loose
ball at the front of the goal box and putting it behind Beach
keeper Jihan Elgazzar to make it 1-0. Before anyone could
catch their breath, Borcich hit Krystal Sandza with a through
pass that led to a breakaway goal and a 2-0 Gaucho lead.
It did not end
there, as Borcich gave UCSB a 3-0 advantage in the 22nd minute
with a blast from the left of the penalty area that beat a
diving Elgazzar. The two goals gave Borcich a team-high nine
on the season.
"We played
a lousy first half," said Peter Reynaud, LBSU head coach,
"and it cost us."
The Beach, despite
not getting its first shot on goal until the 27th minute,
managed to make it 3-1 just before halftime when Kim Stempkowski
sent a cross into UCSB goal area, and following several deflections,
freshman Kelly Kaufman buried a shot from point-blank range.
The goal was Kaufman's second of the season.
"We changed
our formation to adapt to theirs in the first half and that
left the middle open," senior forward Caitlin Murphy
said, "and that's where they scored all their goals."
Said senior defender
Amber Glende: "It's tough to come back when they score
two goals in the first [nine] minutes."
The 49ers changed
their formation in the second half, which led to more scoring
opportunities, including at least three quality chances by
sophomore forward Abie Curry. Still, the 49ers couldn't find
the back of the net despite dominating most of the second
half.
"We had tons
of chances in the second half," Reynaud said. "I
got on [the team] at halftime and they realized they had to
pick it up in the second half ... it's frustrating. You have
to play 90 minutes, not 45. But that's things they'll learn."
Elgazzar finished
with three saves and Hannah Cochrun, who replaced Elgazzar
for the second half, had two. Gaucho keeper Mary Gleason recorded
six saves.
Murphy, Glende
and Stempkowski, all seniors, and Elgazzar and Barrett, redshirt
juniors who will graduate and forgo their final year of eligibility,
the game Sunday was their last home contest for LBSU.
Murphy, Glende
and Stempkowski have been with the LBSU women's soccer program
since its inception in 1997 and despite a limited amount of
success on the field in those four years, at least one of
the players sees a bright future.
"Our record
might not show [success] now," Stempkowski said, "but
we're a young team and in a couple of years could be a powerhouse."
LBSU concludes
the regular season with two Big West road games Friday at
7 p.m. against Pacific and Sunday at 1 p.m. against Cal State
Northridge.
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