The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
Injuries are dominating the 2024 Long Beach State women’s soccer season, and it’s only the first week.
The Beach team lost its All-Big West Conference centerback Brooklyn Antonucci to a preseason injury, and a head injury also sidelined its star defender Julia Moore in its season opener against No. 11 UCLA on Thursday night at George Allen Field.
When the dust settled at halftime, the Bruins led 3-0, but that would remain the final score as LBSU regrouped and played a much better second half despite being shorthanded.
“We were just disorganized in the first half, we had to adjust and use some players who were playing their first minutes in college (tonight) and we needed the first half to get back in the locker room and get organized a little bit,” LBSU coach Mauricio Intrassia said. “I told them if they stick together and communicate, we’ll be a better team in the second half. We’ll take it.”
UCLA outscored LBSU by 18-3 in the game, but only outscored LBSU by 5-2 in the second half. Liz Worden, Jordan Candelaria and Malta Johnson were the scorers for Beach. Freshman Johnson nearly scored from distance after coming on as a second-half substitute. Freshmen Kailey Supa and Grace Caldwell also played well in their debuts.
“We kept our composure and got going,” said Worden of the second half. “It’s not easy to be 3-0 down, but we never let it discourage us and kept pushing.”
UCLA immediately took advantage of Moore’s exit as Emma Egizii (13th) and Bridgette Marin-Valencia (15th) scored rebound goals for the Bruins. Egizii scored again in the 40th minute after dribbling through the heart of the LBSU defense.
“One thing they do really well is the dynamics of their midfield,” said LBSU midfielder Makayla Demelo. “If you take your eyes off them for a second, they’re somewhere else… (At halftime we said) the way the first half went, we can’t change that, it’s about how we perform in the second half. It takes a lot for a team that just conceded three goals to perform like we did. The older players on the team had to say, ‘We have to get our act together, this is our home field,’ and we had to come in with a different mindset.”
Ingrassia said he was pleased with the good spirit his team showed after halftime. He also praised forward Kassandra Ceja for her ability to read the complex movements of the UCLA defense.
“When it gets too quiet on the field, we lose each other a little bit,” Demelo said of her team’s communication. “She keeps us accountable and motivated for each other, and I think we’ll go far this year if we keep doing that.”
“Hopefully we can build on that and develop more offense,” added Ingrassia.
LBSU visits the University of San Diego on Sunday before hosting Santa Clara and BYU next week.
