The Long Beach City College women's soccer team and the College of the Canyons women's soccer team were near identical teams on paper prior to the beginning of the contest. As they both came in with an overall record of 5-2 and boasting a team goal count of 15 on the season, a physical battle ensued directly out of the gates on Friday evening on Viking Soccer Field in hopes of proving to be the better squad on the pitch. After being held scoreless through the opening 80 minutes and trailing by a score, Long Beach managed to tie up the contest late, but the game eventually ended in a 1-1 draw.
The Vikings trailed early in the game after a foul in the box earned Canyons a penalty kick which they promptly converted to grab the one-score advantage. However, following the score, Canyons was held to just two more shots in the opening half, compliments of a strong defensive unit led by sophomore defender Katin Trowbridge (Long Beach, CA) freshman defender Aubree Furman (Long Beach, CA), sophomore defender Terica Johnson (Lakewood, CA), and freshman midfielder Alana Rouse (Long Beach, CA).
The Vikings began to find their rhythm entering into the second frame with sophomore forward Savannah Christensen (Lakewood, C) and freshman forward Julianna Carrillo (Long Beach, CA) combining for three shots in the final 10 minutes of the first half.
The Long Beach defensive brigade continued to own their half of the pitch by allowing a mere shot to leave the foot of a Canyons player. The shot missed wide right by a significant margin.
After LBCC uncorked six shots that did not cross between the posts, the Vikings took advantage of a corner kick in the 80th minute off the foot of Furman. Furman lofted up a perfectly placed pass to freshman forward Hannah Nowland (Pico Rivera, CA) who promptly sent it to the back of the net to tie up the contest at 1-1.
Despite continuing to knock on the door in the latter portion of the contest, the Vikings ended with a 1-1 draw.
Nowland scored her second goal of the season for the Vikings, while Furman notched her first-career assist on the play. Freshman goalkeeper Ronnie Gonzalez (Lakewood, CA) recorded two saves in the game to push her record to 4-1-1 on the season.
Head Coach Sean Reeves commented on the improivements of the team as time ticked on the clock.
"We told our defenders that they had to start winning their own battles," said Reeves. "Increasing pressure and physical play helped us turn the tide completely."
Long Beach (5-2-1) will kick off conference action by taking on L.A. Harbor on the road at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, September 23.