Report by LBSU

Long Beach State’s first day at the UC Irvine Invitational got off to a slow start, as the 49ers lost a pair of games as the No. 4 seed in their group. Krizia Cerda and Melissa Matheson each scored two goals on the day.

Long Beach State’s closest game came in against No. 7 LMU, as the 49ers scored three first period goals, but were outscored in an offensive first quarter 5-3, and were behind at the half 8-5 on the way to a 12-7 loss. Cerda scored two goals to lead The Beach, while

In the first game of the day, Long Beach State got a lone goal from Melissa Matheson in a 12-1 loss to No. 2 USC. Stragier made five saves for Long Beach State, but the Women of Troy took an 8-0 lead in the first half to grab the win.

Long Beach State will play two more matches in the tournament tomorrow, beginning with UC Davis at 11:45 p.m. Sunday in Irvine.