Women’s soccer falls 2-1 to Long Beach State University | New University

UCI women’s soccer fell 2-1 to Long Beach State University on Oct. 17 in a defensive battle that came down to two penalty kicks in the second half.

The ‘Eaters met with LBSU for the first time this season after playing to a 1-1 draw in their last season. This iteration of the black and blue rivalry was played in the Anteater Stadium, and got off to a fast-paced but unproductive start. 

UC Irvine was immediately forced onto the defensive as Long Beach picked up the ball and held onto it. Junior midfielder/forward Mimi Dominguez earned UCI’s first shot in the 10th minute. She made a sideways shot attempt from deep center field that veered far to the left, never finding the back of the net. Five minutes later, Dominguez made another attempt on goal from beyond the box that flew above the net. The scant other possessions UCI held for the first half failed to produce goal attempts, and Long Beach was able to clear or intercept them. 

With the exception of those two shot attempts, the first half’s offensive action was all Long Beach. They advanced into UCI’s third and settled there for the majority of the half, making frequent forays into the box. Anteater fifth-year goalkeeper Sara Paul made several important saves. She made a low save on a 1v1 point blank shot in the 18th minute, then a diving save to grab a long shot in the 19th. UCI’s back line worked in tandem to keep out a shot in the 40th minute that Paul bobbled, which had to be cleared off the line by a pack of ‘Eaters’ defenders. The first half ended with little fanfare. 

The second half was where the game really kicked into gear for both teams. UCI’s back line continued to deny Long Beach, and the ‘Eaters won themselves a few minutes in their attacking third. Despite that, the ‘Eaters’ increased energy still wasn’t turning up any shots. Anteater junior forward/midfielder Ariane Haysman Boaler received the first yellow card of the match after she attempted to hurdle her defender in the 54th minute and came down on her neck. As the game ticked into the one hour mark, the ‘Eaters had two fast breaks: a sprint by junior forward Clara Samson up the line along the benches in the 66th minute, and a break by Boaler that almost pushed up into the box. Both attempts were cut short by Beach challenges. 

LBSU took the lead in the 73rd minute after a handball in the penalty area, which resulted in a penalty kick. A Long Beach kick cut deep inside the penalty box to the right of the goal, and UCI sophomore midfielder/defender Mimi Yamamoto rushed to meet its receiver. Yamamoto slid forward so fast that she fell backwards as the Long Beach attacker kicked the ball towards the goal, and it clipped Yamamoto’s outstretched elbow. Every LBSU player on the field immediately gestured for a handball review, which the refs conducted. They then awarded a penalty kick to LBSU. 

Long Beach sophomore midfielder Ameera White took the shot, a low kick to the left of the net. Paul predicted her shot accurately and dove low, but couldn’t get low enough in time. The ball rolled just inside the net, and Long Beach was up 1-0. 

Not even two minutes later, they lost their lead. In the 75th minute, following a penalty against LBSU, Samson fed a high kick to freshman defender Allison Rabe, who was waiting in the box among a crowd of players. Rabe headed the ball rightwards as she was jostled by the crowd, and it rocketed right past the hands of senior goalkeeper Aurora Schuck. UCI had their equalizer, and only 15 minutes remained to play. 

By the time the game hit its 80th minute, the lead had switched for a third time. After a Beach striker’s shot attempt slipped through a wall of UCI’s defense, Paul hit it away only to send it back to Long Beach. Their second shot attempt was blocked by the defense and slowed enough for Paul to hold onto it. However, as UCI set up for a goal kick, LBSU challenged the play for a handball. The refs found one, a touch off of Dominguez as she twisted midair during the second shot. White took the penalty shot again. Paul bet to her left this time, dropping in anticipation of a low shot. White kicked to the exact same place as her previous shot and found no resistance. 

UCI, down 2-1 with just over 10 minutes left, made a challenge of their own in the 79th minute. The ‘Eaters found themselves concentrated in Long Beach’s box again in a good scoring position. When a Long Beach player went down blocking a shot attempt from sophomore defender Jasmyne Wheeler, the ‘Eaters called for a handball. The refs agreed, and Dominguez took the penalty kick, her fourth shot attempt in the game. It went high, barrelling towards the middle of the goal and above the fingers of Schuck, but too high. No second equalizer came for the ‘Eaters the rest of the game. 

In the last ten minutes, UCI fired on all cylinders. LBSU seemed content to relinquish their possession of the ball much more, but it didn’t make a difference. Samson managed to rush the goalkeeper with the ball unopposed once in the 87th minute, but Schuck was able to meet her at the corner of the net. UCI played through the game’s final seconds, but when the whistle blew, the score was still 2-1. 

“We were pretty resilient,” ‘Eaters head coach Scott Juniper said in a postgame interview with New University. “We didn’t play very well with the ball, but we did ok without the ball … We did a lot of work without the ball and stopped them from creating too many [chances]. There were too many small errors that prevented us from being as fluid as we usually like to be.”

Paul, who made five saves in the game, expressed that she avoids letting moments like penalties weigh down her later performances. 

“My actual favorite thing that I always think of is actually from Ted Lasso, but I knew of it beforehand — it’s just having the mind of a goldfish,” Paul told New University. “It’s having a 10 second memory. … Soccer is about being present in the moment and knowing that mistakes are going to happen. Nothing is perfect, and you learn from those mistakes, and then you let it go, and you keep going.”

The ‘Eaters’ next match is Wednesday Oct. 21 in Riverside, where they will face California Baptist University. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at the CBU soccer stadium. Fans interested in watching the game remotely can tune in from ESPN+. 

Cora Reyes Castelloe is a Sports Staff Writer for the fall 2026 quarter. She can be reached at clreyesc@uci.edu.

Edited by Melissa Hernandez and Jaylynn Tsui.

Cora Reyes-Castelloe is a third-year political science and economics major who joined New University as a Sports intern in summer 2026. She spends most of her time reading and writing in some form or another. She is on UCI’s mock trial team, for New U, and for fun. She also enjoys running, spending quality time with her friends and family, and saving recipes online that she will never actually attempt.