The winningest team (18-5-1) in Long Beach State history takes an eight-match winning streak into Friday's quarterfinal matchup at third-ranked Duke with the opportunity to become the first Big West program to advance to the NCAA Women's Soccer College Cup.

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Ashley Roese, Long Beach State
In a season of amazing success for the Long Beach State women’s soccer team, sometimes contributions need to come unexpectedly.  That’s exactly what happened when the 49ers defeated San Diego, 1-0, in the NCAA Tournament Third Round on Sunday at UCLA’s Drake Stadium.  Seldom used freshman Ashley Roese stepped up to deliver her first collegiate goal as she scored in the 56th minute in a game with few scoring chances due to unfavorable field conditions.  Roese had played a total of 95 minutes as a reserve in just eight appearances, but found her way into the game on a hunch from the coaching staff that her aggressive, physical style of play was well suited for a soggy, rain-soaked pitch.  Fittingly, Roese scored LBSU’s magical 49th goal of the season – a school record.

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Recapping Long Beach State’s Amazing Run
It is a season of firsts for the Long Beach State women’s soccer program.  The 49ers notched their initial victory in the NCAA Tournament – in their third overall appearance – when they defeated No. 7 Pepperdine 1-0 in a first round overtime matchup on Nov. 12.  For an encore, LBSU handed an Atlantic Coast Conference team its first setback in the tournament with a 1-0 victory against Miami (FL) in the second round, advancing to its first Sweet 16.  And a 1-0 triumph against San Diego furthered the adventure as the 49ers became the first team in Big West history to reach the NCAA quarterfinals.  The 49ers travel to No. 3 Duke on Friday for an Elite Eight matchup at 4:00 p.m. (PST).

Some other tidbits about the 49er postseason:

• Long Beach State has a penchant for playing 1-0 games.  In fact, all five all-time 49er NCAA Tournament games have been decided by that score.  The 49ers suffered setbacks in the 2008 and 2010 first rounds to San Diego and Santa Clara, respectively.  But they have befriended the 1-0 outcome in this year’s tournament, including avenging the loss to the Toreros in the 2008 postseason.

• Long Beach State is one of only three teams in the Elite Eight to have not allowed a goal in the NCAA Tournament.  Top-ranked Stanford and No. 6 Virginia are the others.  The 49ers are now ranked 24th nationally in goals against average (0.71).

• The 49ers have eclipsed the 2005 Cal State Fullerton and 2010 UC Irvine programs as the Big West program to advance the furthest in the NCAA Tournament.  The CSF and UCI sides reached the Sweet 16 before falling to Virginia and Washington, respectively.

• Long Beach State became only the second Big West team to win a true road match in the NCAA Tournament when it beat Pepperdine in the first round.  The 1999 Cal Poly squad was the other, taking out Fresno State in the first round.

What’s On The Line
Long Beach State is one win away from advancing to the 2011 College Cup.  The 49ers face a monumental challenge in Duke, which is 13-0-1 at Koskinen Stadium this season.  Should the 49ers win that quarterfinal matchup, they would travel to Kennesaw, Ga. for the College Cup at 8,300-seat  KSU Soccer Stadium.  The College Cup will be played on December 2 and 4.  A successful roadtrip to Durham, N.C. would also mean that Long Beach State is the third team in Big West soccer history – men or women - to reach the College Cup.  UC Santa Barbara’s men finished as the national runner-up in 2004 and won the national championship as an unseeded team in 2006.

Building A Tradition Of Success
With Long Beach State and UC Irvine representing the Big West in this year’s NCAA Championship field, it marks the third time in the last four seasons that the conference has sent two teams to postseason play.  It is also the fourth time since 2005 that the conference has had multiple NCAA Tournament representatives.  It is also the third time in Big West history that the league has posted at least one NCAA Tournament victory in back-to-back seasons.

Movin’ On Up
The Big West has accumulated five victories in the NCAA Tournament over the last two seasons.  UC Irvine recorded wins against Arizona State and Wake Forest in 2010, followed by Long Beach State’s three wins this season.  That equals the number of postseason wins the conference had in the previous 12 years (5-14-1).

Long Beach State Aims To Tie Big West Wins Record
Long Beach State has won a school record eight straight games entering its quarterfinal matchup at Duke.  The 49ers are now 18-5-1 overall.  The 18 wins represent a school record, eclipsing the previous mark of 14 that the 2006, 2008 and 2010 clubs initially established.  In addition, the 49ers are tied for third in Big West history for most wins in a single season.  One more win would tie the conference record of 19 owned jointly by Cal State Fullerton (2005) and UC Irvine (2010).  The 49ers have captured double-digit victories in six of the last seven seasons.  In the last five seasons, Long Beach State has won 64 games (64-34-10).

MOST OVERALL WINS IN A SEASON

School	Year	Wins	Record
UC Irvine	2010	19	19-3-2
Cal State Fullerton	2005	19	19-4-0
Cal Poly	2003	18	18-2-2
Long Beach State	2011	18	18-5-1
Pacific	1998	15	15-3-3
Cal Poly	1997	15	15-6-0
UC Irvine	1997	15	15-7-0

Link’s Epic Season
Long Beach State junior Nadia Link, the 2011 Big West Offensive Player of the Year, is having one of the top seasons in Big West history.  The conference leader in goals (16), assists (10), points (42) and game-winning goals (7) ranks in the Big West single-season top 10 in all four categories.  She is tied for sixth all-time in goals and tied for seventh in assists.  Her 42 points rank as the third-most in Big West history while her seven game-winning goals is tied for second.  In addition, she is tied for 10th in the Big West career record book with 10 game-winning goals.

BIG WEST SINGLE SEASON TOP 10 - GOALS

25	Krystal Sandza, UC Santa Barbara	2002
22	Christy Johnson, North Texas	1997
17	Jennifer Borcich, UC Santa Barbara	2002
17	Dolores Browning, Cal State Fullerton	1996
17	Nicole Bucciarelli, UC Irvine	1996
16	Nadia Link, Long Beach State	2011
16	Regina McGee, Pacific	2002

BIG WEST SINGLE SEASON TOP 10 - POINTS

58	Krystal Sandza, UC Santa Barbara	2002
51	Christy Johnson, North Texas	1997
42	Nadia Link, Long Beach State	2011
41	Jennifer Borcich, UC Santa Barbara	2002
41	Dolores Browning, Cal State Fullerton	1996

Clean Sheet Specialist
Senior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Gustaves has recorded five straight shutouts and boasts a streak of 447 consecutive scoreless minutes between the pipes.  The Long Beach State netminder set a Big West single-season record with her 12th shutout in the 1-0 victory against San Diego.