UC Irvine women’s soccer suffered a 2-1 defeat against Long Beach State University on October 17 at Anteater Stadium, with the match hanging entirely on a pair of decisive second-half penalty conversions, as reported by newuniversity.org.
Fantasy & Market Impact
- Long Beach State continues to lean heavily on offensive spearheads like Ameera White for set-piece conversion and goal contributions.
- Goalkeeper Sara Paul remains a high-value anchor for UCI despite the penalty outcomes, consistently racking up crucial saves under pressure.
A Defensive Stalemate Gives Way to Penalty Drama
The latest iteration of the black and blue rivalry opened at a fast pace but produced little offensive rhythm in the first frame. UC Irvine found itself pinned deep as Long Beach controlled possession and dictated the tempo in the attacking third. Anteater fifth-year goalkeeper Sara Paul anchored the defense early, denying a point-blank 1v1 look in the 18th minute and pulling down a long-range effort moments later. newuniversity.org noted that UCI’s back line scrambled to clear a bobbled ball off the line in the 40th minute to keep the match scoreless at the break.
The intensity spiked immediately after halftime. In the 73rd minute, a swift Long Beach attacking sequence sent the ball deep into the right side of the penalty area. UCI sophomore midfielder and defender Mimi Yamamoto slid aggressively to meet the receiver, falling backward as the attacker struck the ball. The shot clipped Yamamoto’s outstretched elbow, prompting immediate appeals from LBSU players. Following a review, the referee pointed to the spot.
Long Beach sophomore midfielder Ameera White stepped up and slotted a low shot past a diving Paul to break the deadlock at 1-0. The lead vanished almost instantly. Just two minutes later, UCI manufactured an equalizer when junior forward Clara Samson floated a high delivery into a crowded LBSU box. Freshman defender Allison Rabe rose through the traffic to head the ball past senior goalkeeper Aurora Schuck, leveling the score at 1-1.
Late-Game Set Pieces Decide the Black and Blue Rivalry
Parity lasted only until the 80th minute. After a scramble inside the UCI penalty area, a Beach shot slipped past the defensive wall and forced another reaction stop from Paul. During the ensuing dead ball, LBSU successfully challenged for a prior handball against Mimi Dominguez during the scramble. White converted her second penalty of the night, replicating her low placement to the exact same corner to reclaim a 2-1 advantage for Long Beach State.
UCI pressed furiously in the closing ten minutes, winning a penalty of their own in the 79th minute after a block against sophomore defender Jasmyne Wheeler drew a handball whistle. Dominguez took the kick, sending a powerful strike high over Schuck’s outstretched fingers and over the crossbar. Despite an 87th-minute rush by Samson that forced Schuck to make a desperate challenge at the corner of the net, the Anteaters failed to find a second equalizer before the final whistle.
| Match Detail | UC Irvine | Long Beach State |
|---|---|---|
| Final Score | 1 | 2 |
| Goals Scored (Open Play) | 1 (Allison Rabe) | 0 |
| Goals Scored (Penalties) | 0 | 2 (Ameera White) |
| Goalkeeper Saves | Sara Paul (5 saves) | Aurora Schuck |
Reflections on Resilience and Moving Forward
We didn’t play very well with the ball, but we did ok without the ball … We did a lot of work without the ball and stopped them from creating too many [chances].
There were too many small errors that prevented us from being as fluid as we usually like to be.
My actual favorite thing that I always think of is actually from Ted Lasso, but I knew of it beforehand — it’s just having the mind of a goldfish,
Paul told newuniversity.org. It’s having a 10 second memory. … Soccer is about being present in the moment and knowing that mistakes are going to happen.
Nothing is perfect, and you learn from those mistakes, and then you let it go, and you keep going.
The Anteaters turned their attention quickly past the rivalry loss, hitting the road to face California Baptist University in Riverside.
