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Long Beach State women's soccer head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said that he was pleased with his team's performance despite losing 2-0 to visiting #14 BYU on Friday afternoon at George Allen Field, and the team will try to carry some momentum into their first road game of the season tonight when they visit Fresno State tonight at 7:00pm.

On Friday, the 49ers were outmatched by a Cougars team that proved a little bigger and a little faster, and that was all they needed to put two goals in the net and keep Long Beach from doing the same. It was the first time the 49ers have lost a home opener since 2005.

The game was tied at the break but BYU came out firing in the second half, outshooting Long Beach 10-3 and scoring in the 47th and 53rd minutes on goals by Kassidy Shumway and Carlee Payne, respectively.

"They definitely had to think about us and until they got the first goal I thought it was anybody's game," Ingrassia said. "I thought today it was much better than it was against San Diego State [in a previous exhibition loss]."

For a young 49ers team trying to improve on an uncharacteristically poor showing last season, the tight contest was an encouraging sign. Ingrassia said that he could have scheduled an easier opponent for the season opener, perhaps to build a little confidence in his players, but he would rather test them against the best and build from there.

After tonight's game, the 49ers will play #21 Washington State and #15 Virginia Tech this weekend in the Aggieland Invitational Tournament hosted by Texas A&M in College Station, Texas.

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