The 2013 Long Beach City College women's soccer season came to a disappointing end following a 1-0 Southern California Regional play-in round game loss against Saddleback College at JSerra High School in San Juan Capistrano on Thursday.
Saddleback's Emily Winkelmann scored on a penalty kick in extra time as the two teams battled through torrential rain at various points of the contest.
Saddleback (13-3-6) was outplayed for most of the first half as Long Beach controlled the tempo, outshooting the Gauchos 9-0 over the first 45 minutes. LBCC's best chance to score came late in the first half when freshman Yasmyn Andrade's (Delray, FL) shot sailed past Saddleback goalkeeper Alexandria Scott and hit the right post.
Viking sophomore defender Victoria Correa (Downey HS) also helped preserve the first-half shut as she cleared a Saddleback shot at an open goal from the back line.
Saddleback then found its stride in the second half as the weather eased up a bit, with both teams getting their chances.
Long Beach finished the game with nine shots on goal to Saddleback's four, but it was the final shot that mattered in the first minute of extra time after the officials announced three minutes of injury time.
Saddleback's game-winner started when Kathryn Kazzi sent a cross near the Long Beach goalkeeper Karen Nuno (Bellflower HS), who saw the ball glance off her body towards the goal. The ball was then touched illegally by a Long Beach defender's hand near the goal line, thus giving Winkelmann her opportunity in the form of a penalty kick. Winkelmann's shot went right as Nuno guessed left for the game-winner.
Long Beach ends its season with a 12-7-2 overall record. LBCC finished in third place in the South Coast Conference at 8-4-2.