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Sophomore
Erin Empting battles for a loose ball with
Andrea Schmitz of Drake during the 49ers’
1-0 win Saturday at George Allen Field.
• Yulian Danusastro / Daily Forty-Niner
Women’s
soccer stays unbeaten, wins 49er Classic
By
Michael Bower
Daily Forty-Niner
Sports Editor
Long
Beach State’s women’s soccer
team shutout the competition, and won its
own 49er Classic by going 2-0 over the weekend
to stay unbeaten in the early season.
The
49ers edged out Drake 1-0 on Friday at George
Allen Field, and then defeated Iona 2-0
Sunday at Long Beach City College.
The
Beach has now matched its best start in
school history. The last time the 49ers
started 3-0-1 was in 2000. The 49ers have
now shutout three out of four opponents.
The
49ers’ (3-0-1) defense was led by
Most Outstanding Player Natalie Messina
and goalie Tara Gotthardt, who extended
her scoreless streak to 245-straight minutes
after Sunday’s game.
Forward
Allison Reeves tallied her first two goals
of the season over the weekend. Reeves was
named to the All-Tournament Team along with
teammates Messina, Gotthardt and forward
Kristin Travis.
Reeves
sat for the first half of Friday’s
match, but in the second half she proved
to be the spark the women’s soccer
team needed.
Reeves’
shot at the 48th minute found the back of
the net as the 49er defense held strong
to edge out Drake 1-0.
Reeves
took the pass from Travis and Hilary Goldberg
from the right corner into the box. Reeves
then fired it in from five yards out.
"We
wanted to get [the game] back to our style
of play," Reeves said. "We weren’t
really playing our style in the first half."
The
49ers have not had much first-half success
this season, but the second half has been
a different story. The Beach were out shot
16-9 in the game, but seven of those nine
shots came in the second half for the 49ers.
"I
believe every second half we played we have
found fire," Messina said, who made
many key defensive plays throughout the
game.
The
first half was shaky for the 49ers, but
the defense was able to keep the ball out
of the net to preserve a tie.
"Defensively
we have been very solid," Head Coach
Mauricio Ingrassia said. "If the defense
can hold solid then you can sputter every
where else and get one goal to pull the
game out."
Reeves
continued her great play Sunday as she was
involved with both goals in the 2-0 victory
over Iona.
Reeves
was knocked down in the box in the 29th
minute, which lead to an Erin Empting penalty
kick goal, and then 28 seconds later Reeves
took a pass from Travis from the right side
to finish out the scoring for The Beach.
The
defense of the 49ers allowed just six shots
in the game including just one shot during
the second half. The Beach took 17 shots
in the match.
"We
are getting comfortable with every game,"
Ingrassia said. "The good thing is
that we squeezed out the close one."
The
49ers will be heading to Hawaii on Saturday
for the beginning of its seven-match road
trip. The Beach will begin play in the Hawaii
Classic against Duke on Saturday at 9 a.m.
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