A first career goal, and a historic career goal, lifted Long Beach State women’s soccer over UC Irvine 2-1 on Sunday night at George Allen Field.
Freshman Sierra Castles scored her first goal as a 49er in the 36th minute to give LBSU (9-5-2, 4-1-1) a lead, and senior Ashley Gonzales scored her school-record 34th career goal with 20 minutes left to provide the game-deciding offense in a very physical contest.
“I was determined to score today,” Gonzales said. “I’m just really happy to help get this win for my team.”
NCAA Soccer: Long Beach State vs. UC Irvine
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LBSU outshot UCI 16-8 in the game, and goalkeeper Imani McDonald made five saves. UCI scored in the last seconds of the match.
“Our team put forth the right type of performance for this time of year,” LBSU coach Mauricio Ingrassia said. “I thought we broke them down when we needed to. We did all of the little things you have to do to win a game like this.”
LBSU is now in second place in the Big West Conference, and just one point behind first-place UC Irvine (8-6-3, 4-1-2) with a game in hand.
“They hype of college is so insane, ” Castles said. “The crowd is always right there screaming at you… this win is definitely really good for us.”
The Beach visits UC Davis on Thursday, and hosts Cal State Northridge on Sunday in the regular season finale. A win in either game will clinch a conference tournament spot of LBSU.
