LONG BEACH, Calif. --- The Anteaters fell behind early, and never could quite catch up suffering a 3-0 loss in the Big West Tournament Final Sunday afternoon at George Allen Field to the Long Beach State 49ers.
LBSU (10-6-4, 4-1-3) pounced on an early corner kick to score on its first shot. Chloe Froment had a pair of unsuccessful corners, but the third found Kaitlin Fregulia on the back post whose volley slid in to give the 49ers a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute.
The 49ers gained some steam putting up the next two shots, and then broke through for another goal in the 24th minute. Mimi Akaogi and Mimi Rangel combined to feed Jessica Vincent behind the defense who beat Maddie Newsom to the ball and poked it by her to grow the deficit to 2-0.
The mountain grew even higher in the 26th minute as a foul in the box set up Ashley Gonzales from the penalty spot, and she would convert for a daunting 3-0 LBSU lead.
The 'Eaters (13-7-2, 5-2-1) hung with them getting a brilliant opportunity late in the half from Maritza Acuna, but the lead remained 3-0 through 45 minutes.
The urgency showed as the second half began. UCI forged forward, turned away multiple times by the 49er backline, but created some chances. UCI outshot LBSU 7-3 in the half, but struggled to penetrate the last line and earned zero corner kicks on the afternoon eventually falling by the 3-0 score.
LBSU's Mimi Rangel was named Big West Tournament MVP as LBSU improved to 3-0 all-time in tournament finals against the 'Eaters.
Newsom made two saves in net for UCI compared to four from LBSU's Ashton McKeown.
"We didn't get the result, but all of us went out there, especially in the second half, and gave it all we had together as a team," senior Kelsey Texeira said of her team's performance, and fellow senior, Sammie James, echoed her sentiments.
"I'm excited for what's to come from this team. We finished strong, I know that last half really showed what we can do. Unfortunately, it is the end of the road for me, but I'm still UCI and stoked to come out and see they can do next year. Still moving forward."
The season ends with a 13-7-2 mark, most wins for the program since 2011, and sixth season all-time with as many as 13. UCI now stands 1-4 in Big West Tournament Finals.
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