The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
Baseball players will put on a weighted donut on their bat for warm up swings in the on deck circle. When they take it off and get to the plate, the bat feels lighter and easier to swing.
The non-conference schedule against multiple ranked teams was the donut for Long Beach State women’s soccer this year, and how the Beach is swinging for the fences.
LBSU (4-4-1, 1-0-0) beat visiting Cornell 1-0 on Friday in the non-conference finale before dominating UC Riverside in the Big West Conference opener on Sunday evening at George Allen Field.
“We prepared for this moment to start (conference play) off strong and luckily we got off on the right foot,” LBSU coach Mauricio Ingrassia said. “We talked about the speed of play we’ve been playing at is much higher than (the Big West) and you can see it with the comfort level we have on the ball. They should feel like they can play with anybody.”
In the win over UCR, senior Kassandra Ceja scored twice while fellow forward Liz Worden had a goal and an assist.
“It was really important to stick to our game,” Ceja said. “That feeling of being able to shoot out (and start fast) and score goals, that comes from the preseason and adversity we had to face.”
LBSU goalkeeper Aurora Schuck made eight saves on Sunday, and only needed one against Cornell on Friday. Schuck has played every minute of all nine games with 41 saves and 12 goals allowed.
“There’s multiple pieces to the puzzle when it comes to the back line, and after (nine games) we’re filling those pieces in as a solid back line now,” she said. “Communication helps a lot, it helps not only me stay focused but it also keeps my backline in check.”
After a relatively even opening half hour, the first goal came on a fancy give-and-go between Ceja and Worden. Ceja spun around the ball and her defender at the top of the 18-yard box and laid it off to Worden on the left side. She beat her defender to the end line where she chipped in a cross. Ceja met it in front of goal and sent it home with a flat-footed header.
“She is a hard worker and I can always count on her to have my back,” Ceja said. “This game proved we can work really well with each other.”
Three minutes later, Ceja deftly drew a foul in the box and buried the resulting penalty kick.
Worden scored in the 67th minute on a beautiful lofted shot from the corner of the box. She had a team-high five shots and LBSU outshot UCR 16-13.
LBSU hosts Cal State Northridge on Thursday at 7 p.m. and visits UC San Diego on Sunday.
