Quaresma: ‘It feels good to win'

Soccer • Freshman Katelyn Quaresma (25) and senior Allison Wiegand hug after the teams first Big West Conference win over UC Irvine in seven years. Yulian Danuststro/Online Forty-Niner

 

By Claire Howie
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer

"It feels good to win," 49ers' freshman forward Katelyn Quaresma said about Friday's 3-1 conference match over UC Irvine. "Our goal was to win it for the seniors, to give them something to remember. This is a start."

The Long Beach State women's soccer team recorded its first Big West Conference victory of the season as they defeated the UC Irvine Anteaters (4-11-2, 1-6-0 Big West) for the first time in the program's seven-year history.

The 49ers (6-8-1, 1-5-1 Big West) came out strong scoring the first two goals of the match in under 10 minutes.

Scoring began with senior forward Allison Wiegand at the 4:31 mark. Wiegand headed in a corner kick from defender Shanna Wender to put The Beach up 1-0. The goal was off the first corner kick of the game, a nice change considering all seven corner kicks taken against CS Northridge last weekend failed to produce a goal.

Just four minutes and 43 seconds later, Quaresma scored the first goal of her collegiate career and second of the game giving LBSU a 2-0 lead. Wiegand recovered the rebound from Kristin Travis's shot and passed to Quaresma who was waiting just 10 yards out on the right side to send the ball sailing past UCI goalkeeper, Melissa Welliver.

"I think it set the tone for the entire game," Wiegand said. "We came out and got two goals really quick. We let the other team know that it wasn't going to be easy to come here to Long Beach State and play us, and win on our field."

The Anteaters answered the 49ers' two early goals with a goal of their own at 12:47. Midfielder Lauren Wiley mimicked Wiegand as she headed in a corner kick from teammate Brittany Webster and narrowed LBSU's lead to 2-1.

An intense defensive battle held both teams scoreless for the remainder of the first half. The defensive struggle continued into the second half until 49ers' defender Elizabeth Romo broke through UCI's defense at 60:31, scoring an unassisted goal off her own rebound, ensuring a Beach victory.

The 49ers' defense, knowing all too well that a team can come back at any time, continued to put intense pressure on the Anteaters. Backline veterans Natalie Messina and Shanna Wender, rotated with freshmen defenders Kelli Goes and Amanda Perry to hold the Anteaters scoreless for the remainder of the game.

Messina, arguably the team's most physical defender, split open her forehead when she collided with a UCI player during her defensive efforts. LBSU trainers walked a bloody Messina to the team's bench where she would finish the game as a spectator.

"The defense did really well, the two freshmen playing the back stepped up big time, it was one of the first games both of them have been back there together and they did a great job," 49ers' goalkeeoper Meghan Hartwyk said. "And Natalie and Shanna are always solid, every single game. It is easy to work with a backline like that. We've been putting a lot of pressure on the forwards to get more goals in and today they came through. It's so much easier to play defense when goals are being scored."

Both teams produced the majority of their offense during the first half. Each team took 12 shots during the contest with UCI out shooting LBSU 5-4 in the second half, but the Anteaters were still unable to find the net. Hartwyk had two saves in the second half and totaled six for the game.

"Today it was a full effort, 90-minutes of high intensity. I thought, not only did we play hard, we also executed," 49ers' Head Coach Maurico Ingrassia said. "We came out with a lot of emotion and energy. We were composed in front of the box; that was the big difference."

According to Ingrassia, the 49ers will be playing for pride on their home turf as they close out regular season play next weekend when they host CS Fullerton, Friday at 3 p.m. and UC Riverside, Sunday at 3 p.m. Ending the season on two wins would not only be a source of pride for the team, it would also give them back-to-back .500 Big West finishes.