October 31, 2007

49ers face must-win after loss to UC Irvine
Staff reports

IRVINE - Friday afternoon's home match against Cal Poly was going to be a big game for the Long Beach State women's soccer team no matter what.

But following Tuesday night's 1-0 loss to UC Irvine, the 49ers will come into the Big West Conference showdown absolutely needing a win for any chance to repeat as champs.

Kim Conlan scored from 35 yards out from the far left wing, taking advantage of backup goalkeeper Breanna Truelove, to lead the Anteaters (10-5-2, 4-1-1) to victory.

The loss kept LBSU (11-6-0, 4-2-0) from moving into a first-place tie with Cal Poly and CS Fullerton in the BWC standings.

The 49ers now hold the fourth and final spot in the BWC Tournament, as UCI leapfrogged them into third place, with two matches to go.

Starting goalkeeper Liz Ramos left the field and never returned after getting cleated by a UCI player in the eighth minute. Enter Truelove, who hadn't played since Sept. 23.

The winning score was set up when Truelove chased after a UCI pass, leaving the net wide open. Conlan settled the balled and netted it to give the Anteaters a 1-0 lead.

The 49ers outshot UCI, 8-6, in a physical match.

And they had several chances to tie it. Kristen Kiefer had two solid chances earlier in the game, and Hayley Bolt's header with 24 seconds left was saved by the fingertips of UCI goalkeeper Danielle de Seriere.

The 49ers face Cal Poly at 2 p.m. on Friday at George Allen Field, then close out the regular season Sunday against visiting UC Santa Barbara.

Women's volleyball

LONG BEACH - The Long Beach State women's volleyball team put together one of its most complete matches of the season and swept Cal State Fullerton.

Alexis Crimes finished with 20 kills - her third 20-kill match of the season - as the 49ers rolled to a 30-22, 30-23, 30-26 win at the Walter Pyramid.

The 49ers improved to 16-6 overall and 10-2 in the BWC, and remained in second place behind Cal Poly with four matches to play in the regular-season conference schedule.

Michaela Hasalikova added 11 kills and Quincy Verdin finished with eight kills for the 49ers, who never fell behind in Game 1 and never trailed by more than one point throughout the entire match.

Defensively, the team held the Titans to .176 hitting and made 7.5 blocks over the course of the brief match.

LBSU hosts Cal State Bakersfield on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid.

Women's golf

LAS VEGAS - After two rounds of play at the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown, the Long Beach State women's golf team is in 18th place.

The 49ers shot a 323 in the opening round and followed with a much better performance, a 309, in the second round.

Leading the way for the 49ers is Lindsey McAtee, who is tied for 64th place with an 11-over 155.