Soccer coach gets revenge

Fresno State vistory is sweet for Julie Cochran

By R.S. Hakes, On-Line Forty-Niner

Monday, November 2, 1998

The Long Beach State women's soccer team scored two goals in the final seven minutes of its last regular season game for an exciting 2-1 victory over Fresno State on Thursday evening.

The Beach concluded its inaugural season as a NCAA Division I team with a 9-11 record. Thursday's victory was extra sweet for head coach Julie Cochran as she returned to FSU, where she was previously an assistant coach for three seasons.

Fresno State scored early in the first half on a goal by Cheryl Gano in the 15th minute.

The game remained scoreless for 68 minutes until former FSU player Jennifer Reott made a strong move to beat FSU goalkeeper Jennifer Johnstone and scored for the Beach in the 83rd minute to tie the game 1-1.

Four minutes later, Dana Crutchfield challenged Johnstone in front of the net and the two became tangled up. Johnstone grabbed Crutchfield's ankle and prevented her from a scoring opportunity, resulting in a penalty kick for The Beach. Crutchfield took the penalty kick at the 86-minute, 55-second mark and fired the ball past Johnstone for the game winning goal.

Shots on goal were minimal in the game with The Beach tallying seven, while FSU only had five.

The game also marked the return of the Beach's goalkeeper Michaeli Ramage, who had missed the previous four matches due to an injury. Ramage played the entire game and recorded two saves.