49ers
net first victory in tournament
By
Andrew Conway
On-line
Forty-Niner
As
in games past, the Long Beach State women's
soccer team bombarded their opponents with
numerous scoring chances and dazzling shots.
But
unlike past contests, the 49ers (2-4-0)
players were able to capitalize on their
hard work, earning them a second place finish
in the first annual 49er Classic.
UC
Santa Barbara (3-2-1) placed first in the
tournament, while also having two of its
players named to the all-tournament team,
including the weekend's Most Outstanding
Player -- Jennifer Borcich. Abie Curry and
Lauren Doffing earned spots on the all-tournament
team for The Beach.
In
the 49ers final game of the tournament,
they faced Southern Utah (0-6-0) in what
would turn out to be a record-setting performance
for Curry.
Curry
became the school's all-time point leader,
with 27 points, when she flew past several
Southern Utah defenders and was left all
alone on a breakaway, making no mistake
in tattooing the ball to the far post and
into the twine. Curry surpassed previous
record holder Kelli Barret (1999-2000),
as she also added an assist in Friday's
game.
"It's
unbelievable to imagine being the leading
scorer for an NCAA team," Curry said. "It
was actually a birthday goal for my mother.
Her birthday was the previous weekend and
she said I owed her one."
Curry
was not the only 49er moving up in the record
books. Junior Allison Wiegand moved into
fifth place on the Beach's all-time point
standings with a goal at 12 minutes 34 seconds.
She took a cross pass from Nicole Cross
and one-timed it to the lower-left portion
of the net -- resulting in her 20th career
point.
Amy
Leipham also scored for 49ers on a penalty
kick after she was tripped up in the box.
The final result of the game was 3-0 in
favor of The Beach.
The
tournament kicked-off on Friday with the
49ers hosting Eastern Washington (0-5-2).
Early on it was evident that the 49ers would
dictate the flow of the game, as they maintained
possession with ease inside the Eastern
Washington zone. And 19:12 into the game,
the 49ers broke their four-game scoreless
streak with the first of two goals from
freshman Jen Robin.
"I
was just happy to be there at the right
time. I made a lot of mistakes today, and
I think I owed it to my teammates to put
some [goals] in," Robin said. "We changed
our system this week and I feel our team's
really starting to come together. It feels
good to win and I think we're getting one
step closer every game."
Robin's
first goal was the result of a cross from
Allison Wiegand; the ball lay loose in the
box for a spilt-second before Robin pounced
on it, sending it to the upper-portion of
the net. She later scored in a similar fashion,
knocking a rebound past the outstretched
goalkeeper to cap off a 2-0 Beach victory.
"We're
playing with a little more confidence now,
and we can take to the road with a positive
attitude," said 49er coach Peter Reynaud.
The
49ers will head east to take on Hartford
on Friday and UConn on Sunday.
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