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Welcome to the first edition of the Bold Break, hosted by Chloë Clark, Director of Multimedia Content at The Big West.
Throughout the 2024-25 season, Clark will continue to highlight the stories of our student-athletes and coaches around the conference and give a closer insight into who they are individually on and off the field of play.
This week, Clark visited Long Beach State and caught up with three women's soccer team members, Mikayla Damelo, Julia Moore, and Liz Worden.
Long Beach State women's soccer is no stranger to success.
The Beach's storied history is celebrated across seven NCAA Tournament berths and an appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight back in 2011. LBSU also sports five Big West Championships, four All-Americans, 34 All-West Region Selections, and 112 All-Big West Honorees in its decorated 41-year history.
Heading into the 2024 campaign, the Beach were tabbed as the top team in the league entering the year. Following a few weeks of play, LBSU is off to a solid start in non-conference action.
The Black & Gold came through in the clutch with a game-tying score in the 73rd minute to knot the match one all against No. 4 BYU. The tie is the top result against a nationally ranked opponent around the conference this season.
The following match against Utah Valley, LBSU women's soccer celebrated another milestone. With the 2-1 victory, head Coach Mauricio Ingrassia recorded the 200th win at the helm of Long Beach State. Overall, Ingrassia is the 82nd active NCAA Division I women's soccer coach to win at least 200 in his career and the 175th Division I coach to win at least 200 at the D-1 level.
Clark talked with the trio of Long Beach State about coaches' impact, team culture, and inspirations on and off the pitch, and was even asked a few fun questions about pre-game-rituals, snacks, songs, and much more fun.
Mikayla Demelo currently leads Long Beach State with two tallies this season and ranks ninth overall in The Big West in assists. The Bellflower, Calif. native came through in the clutch, scoring the equalizer versus No. 4 BYU. Demleo gives insight about what scoring that goal meant this year and speaks about the mentality of team success.
Julia Moore's play in the midfield has made an impact on the Beach's success this season. The Nor Cal native's pride is represented when asked about fun spots in California and spoke about being a Biology-Molecular Cell major at Long Beach State.
Liz Worden is welcomed to The Beach after transferring from the University of Texas. Worden returns to the home state of California and has been a crucial component of LBSU's offense this season, notching a tally against Utah Valley. Clark caught up with Worden and asked about the emotions of being back home, and about the team's matchup on the road against Worden's former team, Texas, this upcoming week.
Long Beach State will visit No. 17 Texas on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 4 p.m. This will be LBSU's fourth match against a nationally-ranked opponent this season.