LONG BEACH, Calif. (Oct. 30, 2022) -- The UC Santa Barbara women's soccer team has made it to the quarterfinals of The Big West Championships. After their bye week, the seeding indicated that the Gauchos would have a rematch against Long Beach State on their home pitch today to see who moves on to face the No. 1-seeded Cal Poly Mustangs.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos were on their home pitch as they hosted the Beach for their final game of the regular season. Less than a minute into the game, Dylan Lewis made a penalty kick that gave UC Santa Barbara the advantage. Although the Beach came back with an equalizer, it didn't stop the Gauchos from pushing ahead. Claire Grouwinkel put a beautiful ball right above the bad guys' goalkeeper to score the game-winning goal that solidified their spot in The Big West Championships.
BATTLING THE BEACH
Long Beach State has struggled in their last two showings, dropping a 2-1 match against the Gauchos while grabbing a 1-0 loss to UC Davis, losing their bye in the first round of The Big West Tournament.
Lena Silano has been the most impactful player for the Beach this entire season. Currently, she has 14 goals on the year, which is the fifth most in the NCAA. She is also fifth in the NCAA in total points with 34. She also leads the team in assists with six.
The next closest Beach player to Silano has 15 points, and that is freshman Cherrie Cox. In her first season for the Black and Gold, she has five goals and five assists.
The sophomore goaltending duo of Morgan Houston-Shepherd and Zora Standifer have spent the most time in goal for Long Beach State this season. Standifer has the better goals-against average and save percentage with a 1.055 and .817, respectively. Combined, these two goalkeepers have made 79 saves.
Long Beach State is coached by Mauricio Ingrassia, who has a 186-127-48 record in his 18 seasons with the Beach.
WHEREABOUTS
First kick for this playoff matfh will be at 6 p.m. the Long Beach State's campus. For those who can't attend in person, a live stream is available through ESPN+ and live stats will also be available.
