The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2025-26 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
For the second time in the 2025 season, Long Beach State (3-4-2, 0-0-1) hosted the Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine (2-4-4, 0-0-1) on George Allen Field, only this time as a Big West Conference match.
Thursday night’s meeting was the conference opener for both schools, and though the Beach were able to dominate possession and generate noticeably more chances in front of goal, they were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw on their home field.
“I think we could have been a little more clinical in front of goal, getting a real look, a real chance,” said Beach head coach Mauricio Ingrassia after the match. “We got a lot of half chances, but I felt like we were on our front foot the entire second half, pretty much the whole game. But that’s a good opponent, and they made it difficult, so credit to them. This is the Big West, it’s a fight, and I’m proud of my team. We got the shout out and we fought.”
Not much was asked of Aurora Schuck in the Long Beach State goal, and she did not record a save in her second clean sheet of the season. LBSU’s defense executed their high line well to limit Hawai’i’s counterattack, getting six offside flags against the Rainbow Wahine.
Ingrassia praised his defenders’ ability to win the ball in the air, especially in the second half, which allowed the Beach to pepper the Hawai’i penalty area with chances. The Beach had nine corner kicks on the night (five in the second half) and held a 10-4 advantage in shots, with six of those on target.
Three of those Long Beach corners led to near misses on headers, as Natalie Arnold, Kailey Supa, and Hannah Peters each had shots sail over the crossbar. Radisson Banks had three shots (all on goal) to lead the way for the LBSU attack.
In the closing minutes, Long Beach State had a legitimate penalty appeal when Makena Irvine appeared to take a knee to the face from a Hawai’i defender. During her attempt to clear the ball, a second UH defender headed the ball away, leaving Irvine’s face in the path of her kick. Despite protests from the LBSU bench, there was no penalty awarded and no review initiated as Irvine laid in a heap in the Hawai’i penalty area.
“You’re frustrated when you’re coaching and you want things to go your way,” said Ingrassia of his reaction to that sequence. “Whether they choose to check VAR or not, that’s on them. Our conference doesn’t have a challenge (system), so we can’t challenge it. So it’s up to the referee to check it.”
The Beach were also playing without leading goal scorer Cherrie Cox, who missed the match after receiving a red card in LBSU’s win over New Mexico State last Sunday.
Long Beach State will now get two full weeks off to prepare for their next match, which will be at UC Riverside on Oct. 2.
