Women's soccer falls short in nationals

For the first time ever, the Cal State Long Beach Women's Soccer Club reached the semifinals of the National Collegiate Soccer Association National championship tournament.

The 49ers accomplished this feat by defeating Western Illinois 3-1 in their opening match and knocking off Arizona, 3-0, in their third game.

"Honestly speaking, we did not know we would get this far," said team captain Jackie Gardner.

The CSULB team played to a tie in its second game, against Texas A&M.

Texas A&M went on to the finals and defeated Colorado State 1-0 in overtime.

Gardner said the team played very well, but fatigue and injury suffered from prior games took their toll as the Rams beat the 49ers in a grueling 1-0 semifinal match.

Gardner said the club is not accustomed to playing several games over such a short time span.

Daisy Collins, the team's sweeper, suffered an ankle injury while several other key players suffered from muscular pain, according to Gardner.

Despite the tough competition, the team's performance was more exceptional as opposed to the efforts put up by other schools, Gardener said.

"We did a lot of passing," she said. "We really proved to the opposing teams that we had every right to be there."

As for next season, Gardner said the club will see tremendous improvement, by virtue of its experience and splendid performance in the Phoenix-held NCSA tournament.