November 6, 2007

Senior day extra special for 49ers

In four years under coach Mauricio Ingrassia, the Long Beach State women's soccer team has won the Big West Conference regular-season title the past two seasons and qualified for three consecutive BWC Tournaments.

The 49ers wrapped up this year's Big West regular-season title over the weekend with a 3-1 win over Cal Poly on Friday and a 2-1 win over UC Santa Barbara on Sunday. The 49ers shared the regular-season title with Cal State Fullerton.

The regular-season finale against UCSB was special for Ingrassia for reasons other than winning. It was Senior Day, and it marked the fruition of this first class of seniors - Amanda Perry, Katelyn Quaresma and Rachel Whiteaker. All three started and were on the field when the final whistle blew.

"The senior class is special to me because they were with me from my first day on the job," Ingrassia said. "Winning a championship for them was special."

The BWC Tournament, the winner of which receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, will be played Friday and Sunday at CS Fullerton. The second-seeded 49ers will face No. 3 Cal Poly at 5 p.m., and CSUF will take on UC Irvine at 7:30 p.m. in single-elimination matches at Titan Stadium on Friday, and the winners will meet Sunday at 1 p.m. for the championship.

LBSU forward Kim Silos was named the BWC Player of the Week for the second time this season after recording a goal and two assists over the weekend.

Silos has a shot at the BWC Player of the Year, as she leads the conference with 23 points - seven goals and nine assists.

The junior's nine assists is third best for a single season in school history and the best since the program restarted in 1998.

With 23 career assists, Silos is just three behind all-time leader Anette Fernandez (1984-86). She is also third in career goals with 26, six behind leader Janet Fettig (1984-86). It's likely she will break those records sometime during her senior season.

- Dave Werstine

Crimes recognized

Senior middle blocker Alexis Crimes was named the AVCA National Player of the Week as well as the Big West Player of the Week following three 3-0 wins.

Crimes hit .621 over the three matches and finished with over twenty kills twice. During the week, the Rancho Cucamonga native averaged 6.44 kills and 1.67 digs per game as the 49ers improved to 18-6 overall and 11-2 in conference play.

The 49ers are home this week as they host UC Davis on Friday night and the University of the Pacific on Saturday. Both matches begin at 7 pm in the Walter Pyramid.

- Information provided by Long Beach State's sports information office.