Long Beach State women's soccer beats Cal Poly in Big West Conference

LONG BEACH >> After giving up a cheap game-tying goal minutes before halftime, the Long Beach State women’s soccer team continued to dominate the second half on Thursday night at George Allen Field to beat Cal Poly 2-1 in Big West Conference play.

Senior Mimi Rangel put LBSU ahead for good in the 59th minute when she poked home a loose ball off of a corner kick. It was Rangel’s fourth goal this year and her seventh game-wier at LBSU, which ties her for fifth all-time. Kaitlin Fregulia’s deflected shot off of a corner kick hit Gonzales and two Cal Poly defenders before it came to Rangel at the front post for the finish.

“I guess we just want to make it harder on ourselves and keep it entertaining for everyone,” Rangel joked. “But honestly, we were very frustrated at halftime.”

The 49ers outshot Cal Poly 20-11 and took 12 corner kicks.

“I thought we controlled the whole game and that’s what you want,” Long Beach State coach Mauricio Ingrassia said. “But we need to take care of our chances earlier. We create too much to have to take the ball to the corner at the end of the game.”

LBSU (6-5-2, 2-0-1) travels to reigning Big West champion Cal State Fullerton on Sunday. That game will be broadcast at 5 p.m. on ESPN3. Cal Poly (6-7-1, 1-2-0) visits Cal State Northridge.

Junior Ashley Gonzales put LBSU in front in the first half with her team-high seventh goal of the season.

Cal Poly opened the game on the front foot and senior Kendra Bonsall put two shots on goal in the first 13 minutes. LBSU goalkeeper Ashton McKeown went to the ground for both stops on her way to five saves. Mustangs goalkeeper Sophia Brown made seven saves.

A 13th minute substitution that included Alyssa Alvarez proved to be a game-changer as the sophomore opened up the flank from her left back position. In the 31st minute, Alvarez beat her defender on the edge of the 18-yard box and her crossing pass was deflected by a Cal Poly defender. The deflection found Gonzales at the back post and the junior headed it home.

The Mustangs stole the game-tying goal with less than two minutes to play in the first half. Off a 43rd minute corner, poor clearance from a LBSU defense landed at the feet of Bonsall. The senior cleanly finished the shot.

It appeared that LBSU had taken the lead two minutes into the second half, but Alvarez was whistled offsides on a Rangel header. Cal Poly only had four shots in the second half.

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