October 17, 2007

Big West notebook: Ingrassia took the right turn
The women's soccer coach now has Long Beach pointed in the right direction.
By JANIS CARR The Orange County Register

Several years ago, Mauricio Ingrassia was a student and soccer player at Cal State Fullerton and in need of some extra cash. So when someone mentioned that his high school alma mater, Los Alamitos, was looking for an assistant, he dialed the school's number.

"They were offering $1,500 for the season and paying it all at once," recalled Ingrassia, now the Long Beach State women's soccer coach. "I was a college student and that was a big deal."

Since it would pay for a lot of pizza, Ingrassia took the job. Yet, little did the psychology major realize then that his first payday would turn into a career.

Ingrassia is in the midst of his fourth season at Long Beach State and 14th overall as a head soccer coach and has the 49ers leading the Big West. Long Beach has won 10 matches for a third consecutive season and will put their 10-4-0, 3-0-0 record on the line Friday against Cal State Fullerton (7-6-1, 2-2-0) in a key Big West match-up.

Long Beach has been dominant at home going 18-4 over the past three seasons, but one of those losses has come against the Titans in 2005.

"They have a lot of depth and a variety of ways to come at you," Ingrassia said. "It's a big match for us because it's Fullerton and it's a natural rivalry."

So what started out as a whim has netted Ingrassia not only a Division I job, but also the reputation of top-notch coach – all within a 15-mile radius – but it took time.

Before he landed at Long Beach State in 2003, Ingrassia was the head women's soccer coach at Long Beach City College for nine seasons, where he guided the team to a No. 1 national ranking in 2002 and '03, five JC state titles and a record of 95-3-0 from 2000-03.

During his coaching reign, the Vikings produced three national players of the year and nine all-Americans and one not-so-sought after coach.

Despite his successes at Long Beach City College, Ingrassia didn't get the Long Beach job on his first two tries. The third time the job opened, 49ers officials finally called him back.

Ingrassia said he thinks his reputation in the area allowed him to step into the Division I head coaching job instead of going the assistant's route.

"I was just excited to go to the interview," he said. "And although the job is in the same city, down the road, it was still a big learning curve."

And after three-plus seasons, he is getting high marks.

49ERS SHORT-HANDED

Ingrassia has the 49ers atop the Big West standings despite being short-handed because of injuries.

Long Beach State is without three starters – defender Grace Shevlin (ankle), forward Kristen Kiefer (ankle) and defender Julie Megorden (knee). Shevlin and Kiefer are week-to-week, while Megorden is out for the season.

BIG WEST SOCCER ON TV

Starting Sunday, all Cal State Fullerton men's and women's home soccer matches can be viewed live on BigWest TV, the conference's pay-per-view. Each event is $4.95.

The Titans' first broadcast will be the women's match against Cal State Northridge on Sunday.

MORE BAD BREAKS

Seems that Cal State Fullerton's basketball team isn't the only school squad experiencing broken bones. Last week, Peter Kingman suffered a fractured right tibia in a 1-0 loss to UC Riverside and is lost for the rest of the season.

The Titans (4-7-1, 0-4-1) play at UC Riverside and UC Davis this weekend.

Basketball forward Scott Cutley suffered a broken ankle and is expected to miss at least 6-8 weeks of the upcoming season. The senior is in a hard cast and his ankle will be re-examined in three weeks.

GOLFING SUCCESS

UC Irvine golfer Patty Chawalitmetha earned medalist honors Tuesday at the Lady Aztec Fall Classic in San Diego and led the Anteaters to the team victory.

Chawalitmetha was the only golfer under par for the tournament, shooting a 142 (70-72) to win her first collegiate title, three shots ahead of the pack. She is the fourth Anteaters golfer to earn medalist honors, joining Selanee Henderson, Stella Lee and Walailak Satarak.

Senior Kim Lorenzanz tied for third after shooting a 148 (72-76), her best career finish. Freshman Hillary Packard finished in a tie for seventh place with a two-day total of 150 (79-71).