Mauricio Ingrassia

Long Beach State soccer has developed into a national contender under the direction of head coach Mauricio Ingrassia. Fall 2024 will mark Ingrassia's 21st year,

Under Ingrassia, Long Beach State has reached the elite eight of the NCAA Tournament, made seven NCAA Tournament appearances, and has won the Big West regular season or tournament championship nine times. The program’s Elite Eight run in 2011 was the deepest any Big West women’s soccer program has advanced into the postseason, and the program’s seven NCAA appearances under Ingrassia are the most of any coach in Big West history. This came from a program that did not have a winning record following the team’s reinstatement in 1998 until Ingrassia arrived.

Ingrassia, who has led the Beach to 15 winning campaigns, has compiled an impressive 198-134-52 overall record in his 19 seasons on the pitch. The program has beaten or tied a ranked program in 11 of the last 13 seasons as part of a schedule that annually is one of the toughest in the country. That schedule has also paid dividends regarding campus interest, as the program continues to set new attendance records, seeing 2,303 fans at George Allen Field in 2019 against UCLA.

2023 saw The Beach went 10-6-4 overall, with the non-conference slate being highlighted by a 3-2 defeat of No. 22. LBSU went 5-3-2 in the Big West play, advancing to the conference tournament where Long Beach State tied the eventual league champ, UC Irvine, before falling 4-1 in penalty kicks to UCI. Cherrie Cox was named Big West Offensive Player of the Year, leading seven Beach All-Big West honorees.

Looking to bounce back after just narrowly missing out on the Big West Championships the year before, Ingrassia’s squad posted an 8-7-6 overall record and 5-2-3 mark in Big West play on a run that got them into the Big West Championship match. Awards season saw striker Lena Silano earn Big West Offensive Player of the Year while Cox earned Freshman of the Year, headlining a group of five All-Big West honorees.

The Washington Spirit selected Silano as the 34th overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft. She was the second draftee in as many years after Kaitlin Fregulia went 12th overall pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft.

After COVID-19 canceled the 2020 season, Long Beach State overcame adversity during the 2021 campaign. Dealing with injuries to more than half of his starting lineup, including his 2019 leading scorer, Ingrassia led the Beach to a 9-7-2 overall record but unfortunately missed out on the Big West Tournament in the season’s final game.

Despite that, LBSU still had the Co-Defensive Player of the Year award winner in Kaitlin Fregulia and the Freshman of the Year in Maddy Perez. Six players named All-Big West included Silano, who put together a historic, record book-changing season, becoming just the ninth player in program history with ten-plus goals in a season.

The 2019 season was tough for Ingrassia’s squad, posting a 4-12-1 overall record and 2-5-1 in conference. The highlight of the year was sophomore center back Elysia Laramie, who led the team with six goals scored, eventually being named to the All-Big West First Team.

The Beach was the class of the Big West in 2018, winning a regular-season championship and a Big West Tournament crown to earn the program’s eighth NCAA Tournament appearance. Ingrassia was awarded his second Big West Coach of the Year honor following the season. LBSU’s Sarah Maher and Dana Fujikuni won the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year and Midfielder of the Year awards, respectively.

Despite season-ending injuries to preseason All-Big West selections Ashley Gonzales and Kaitlin Fregulia during the 2017 campaign, the Beach still posted an overall record of 9-6-3 and saw Fregulia honored as Big West Defensive Player of the Year for her efforts over just 14 games and six 49ers in total received All-Big West consideration.

Ingrassia’s charges went unbeaten through their first four games of 2016, including a 1-0 win over #11 USC, and then lost only one game on the way to the Big West Tournament. The Beach then dropped CSUN 1-0 in the semifinals before rolling to a 3-0 win over UC Irvine in the championship match, securing the program’s second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Big West recognized six players from the 2016 team, and the Beach claimed three major honors as Ashley Gonzales was named the Offensive Player of the Year, Mimi Rangel was the Midfielder of the Year, and Chloe Froment was as the Freshman of the Year.

Ingrassia guided Long Beach State to its fourth Big West regular season title and fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in eight years in 2015. The Beach also advanced to the conference tournament final for the second straight season. LBSU opened the campaign on a high note, defeating No. 4 UCLA in front of a record crowd of 2,232 at George Allen Field. Six 49ers earned All-Big West honors, and three garnered NSCAA All-West Region accolades.

In 2014, LBSU went 8-7-6 overall and 4-2-2 in the Big West to finish third in the regular-season standings. The Beach then upset second-seeded Cal Poly on their home field in the Big West Tournament semifinals by playing to a 0-0 draw before advancing to the championship match on penalty kicks. It was Long Beach State’s fourth appearance in the conference finals since 2008. Long Beach State went 8-7-3 in 2013 despite a roster that featured 12 true freshmen, seven of whom earned multiple starts. The Beach picked up big wins at No. 23 Texas Tech and against 11th-ranked BYU. Mimi Rangel was tabbed the Big West Freshman of the Year and a first-team all-conference selection.

In 2012, Ingrassia reached a milestone as he notched his 100th career victory with a 2-1 win over Michigan. The Beach also picked up key non-conference wins over Baylor and San Diego to help them earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. It was LBSU’s third straight postseason appearance. Long Beach State closed out the campaign with a 12-8-0 record. Nadia Link garnered All-America and Big West Offensive Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive season. Link and Alex Balcer were also All-West Region selections, while Ingrassia saw seven players named to the all-conference team.

The Beach finished with an 18-6-1 overall record in 2011, the most remarkable season in program history. LBSU claimed their second-straight Big West Tournament title and advanced deep into the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Elite Eight with victories over No. 7 Pepperdine, Miami, and San Diego. LBSU also shattered the single-season school record for wins (18), goals (49), assists (52) and points (150). Nadia Link tied the individual single-season school record with 16 goals and became the first player in program history to earn NSCAA All-America honors. Shawna Gordon and Alex Balcer joined the link on the NSCAA All-West Region Team. In addition, Link and Gordon highlighted six 49ers on the all-conference team as they were tabbed the Big West Offensive Player of the Year and Big West Midfielder of the Year, respectively.

After being picked to finish sixth in the 2010 Big West Preseason Poll, Long Beach State exceeded expectations, claiming the program’s first Big West Tournament title to earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Beach tied the school’s previous win record, finishing with a 14-6-2 mark, and was second in the Big West regular-season standings at 5-2-1. Lindsay Bullock was named the Big West Midfielder of the Year for the second time in her career, while Bullock, Shawna Gordon, and Nadia Link were first-team all-conference selections. Bullock, Gordon, and Bo Rael were named to the NSCAA All-West Region Team.

Ingrassia spent little time building the LBSU program as his first recruiting class, ranked 15th in the nation, quickly paid dividends, going 12-5-3 in 2005. Hayley Bolt was named the Big West Conference co-Freshman of the year and joined Kim Silos as a Soccer Buzz Freshman All-American, firsts for the program, as were the national and regional rankings during the season. Even more impressive was the fact that upwards of eight freshmen were starters.

In 2008, LBSU went 14-5-4 and established then-school records in goals (44), assists (37), points (125), and shots (326). The record-breaking campaign, which saw the Beach go undefeated in league play at 7-0-1, culminated in the program’s third-straight Big West regular season title, its first appearance in the conference tournament finals, and its first at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Long Beach State racked up the postseason awards as Ingrassia was named the Big West Coach of the Year, Lindsay Bullock was named the conference’s Midfielder of the Year, and Liz Ramos earned top goalkeeper honors. In addition, the Beach placed 10 student-athletes on the All-Big West team, with Bullock and Hayley Bolt being All-West Region selections.

Ingrassia has mentored a handful of former players who have earned international honors. US Soccer invited Nadia Link to the U-23 National Team Camp in the fall 2011 and spring of 2012. Shawna Gordon also attended the U-20 National Team Camp in the spring of 2009, while Hayley Bolt trained with the U-20 National Team during the spring of 2005. Jenn Brooks and Mariko Strickland were invited to the 2007 Australian National Team camp.

In addition, Ingrassia’s players have been highly successful in the classroom as they have boasted one CoSIDA Academic All-American, eight CoSIDA Academic All-District selections, and 79 Big West All-Academic picks.

Before Long Beach State, Ingrassia won five state titles at Long Beach City College, the most by any coach in California history (1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003). The Vikings finished the season ranked in the nation’s top five in five of his final seven years, including a No. 1 ranking in 2002 and 2003. Overall, Ingrassia went 184-24-8 (.870) and ended on a 55-game unbeaten streak which began in October 2001. From 2000-03, the Vikings went an astounding 95-3-1 (.965), starting with a 25-2-0 record in 2000, followed by 24-1-0 and 24-0-1 marks. In 2003, they went 22-0-0.

LBCC won five South Coast Conference titles and made the playoffs eight times. The Vikings earned their first playoff berth in school history in 1996. During Ingrassia’s tenure at LBCC, the Vikings had three national players of the year (2000, 2002, 2003), nine All-Americans, 13 all-region selections, and numerous all-conference honors. Six players were also named the South Coast Conference Athlete of the Year.

In addition to his players’ accolades, Ingrassia was named the NSCAA/Adidas Junior College National Coach of the Year in 2003 and was tabbed the conference’s top coach three times (1997, 2000, 2003), as well as California State Coach of the Year five times. Ingrassia holds a USSF National “A” Coaching License.

Ingrassia graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and earned his master’s in education at Azusa Pacific in 1998. Ingrassia’s playing days included two years at San Diego State (1989-1991) and another with the Titans (1993). Ingrassia is married to Barbara and has two daughters, Madison, and Ava.