UCLA
Long Beach State
UCLA Drops Season Opener to LBSU
August 22, 2015 | Women's Soccer
Long Beach, Calif. - Fourth-ranked UCLA opened its 2015 season with a 1-0 loss at Long Beach State in front of a 49er record crowd of 2,232.
The 49ers scored the game-winner at 66:52 on a pass by Vania Robles that was deflected in by a Bruin defender shortly after a turnover in the back. The Bruins had two good chances to equalize late in the game, but a Kodi Lavrusky goal on a header in the 73rd minute was called off due to an offsides call, and an Amber Munerlyn shot hit the crossbar in the 83rd minute.
"If you look at the stats, I think we should have won, but I don't think we necessarily deserved to win," said UCLA head coach Amanda Cromwell. "We didn't have the fight and the grit that we needed to have. It turned into a grind-it-out kind of game, and we didn't grind it out. When you watch the last 15 minutes, there were multiple chances. But it's early, and we can learn from this and move on to Sunday."
UCLA's first chance came in the 19th minute with a shot by Kristiana Konkol-Mroczkowski that was saved by Long Beach State goalkeeper Ashton McKeown. Lavrusky had a good chance in the 26th minute after a nifty play by Lauren Kaskie, but Lavrusky's shot just skimmed over the crossbar.
Long Beach State had one big chance late in the first half when Kayla Lombardo sent a cross into the box for Robles, whose close-range shot was smothered by UCLA goalkeeper Cassie Sternbach, who was making her collegiate debut. Sternbach sent the ball into play down the left sideline, and Taylor Smith took long-distance shot that went wide.
Long Beach State had the first scoring opportunity of the half, though, with Lombardo sending a header into the box in the 50th minute that was saved by Sternbach. The Bruins dodged a bullet in the 59th minute when Ashley Gonzalez just missed wide right on a shot in the box. Annie Alvarado had a good luck at a shot in the 63rd minute, but it was blocked by a Long Beach State defender.
A takeaway in the back by Long Beach State led to the 49ers' goal in the 67th minute. The Bruins nearly answered back six minutes later on a beautiful header by Lavrusky, but the goal was disallowed due to an offsides call. UCLA had another prime opportunity with seven minutes left, but Amber Munerlyn's shot hit the crossbar, and the rebound shot by Lavrusky went wide.
UCLA will look to regroup on Sunday at San Diego. The game will kick off at 5pm at Torero Stadium.
