|
sports:
women's soccer
Overtime blues
again in soccer home opener
By Tom Carey
On-line Forty-Niner
For the third consecutive
game, the Long Beach State women's soccer team found itself
in overtime. And for the third consecutive time, it ended
unsuccessfully for the 49ers, as the team lost 2-1 to Azusa
Pacific Friday afternoon at George Allen Field.
The result dropped
the team's record to 0-2-1 on the season. The team is in danger
of equaling the worst start in school history, when the 1999
season began with four losses.
Although the first
half was scoreless, the 49ers controlled the game, spending
most of the time on offense. LBSU outshot the Cougars 9-5
the first half, but they could never complete the equation.
Goalkeeper Jihan
Elgazzar played an excellent first half keeping the 49ers
in the game with three saves. Despite the seeming domination,
49er Head Coach Peter Reynaud was not happy with his team's
play in the first half and attributes his team's slow start
to the loss.
"The first
half killed us," Reynaud said. "We didn't
come out ready to play. We have got to show up with more energetic
play in the first half."
The second half
started off slowly with both teams playing very physical defense.
Seventy-two minutes into the game Azusa Pacific scored the
first goal after 49er defender Becky Ricci and goalkeeper
Hannah Cochrun collided en route to blocking a shot.
Erin Arbizu of
Azusa then retrieved the rebound and shot the ball past the
49ers who were still trying to recover from the collision.
With the last minutes
of the game winding down the 49ers looked doomed. With less
than two minutes to play in regulation, LBSU struck back with
a picture perfect goal.
After a perfect
serve from Caitlin Murphy, Allison Wiegand gave a quick pass
to forward Kristin Travis who put it in the back of the net
to tie the score at 1-1 and send the game into overtime.
"Murphy hit
the pass perfectly past the defenders and I was wide open,"
said Travis.
The 49ers came
out strong in overtime, attacking the Cougars. LBSU had three
shots on goal in a matter of minutes but Azusa's goalkeeper
Mellisa Strother was there to stop them. The score stayed
tied at 1-1 and sent the game into its second overtime period.
Both teams continued
to attack at the outset of the second overtime, but neither
team could connect.
The offensive pressure
put on by The Beach caused a defensive lapse that led to the
winning goal. The Cougar's Chrissy Sanford sprinted up a wide-open
left flank and received a through ball from Kimber Carter
before barreling in on goal.
Sanford notched
the game winner in the 111th minute.
The 49ers look
for their first win of the season against San Jose State Wednesday
at 3 p.m. at George Allen Field.
|
