SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Long Beach State remained the only unbeaten and untied team in the Big West Conference after completing a Central Coast road sweep with a 1-0 win against UC Santa Barbara Sunday afternoon at Meredith Field.

The Beach (8-3-3, 3-0-0 Big West), which was coming off a 2-0 victory at Cal Poly on Thursday, continued its perfect start to conference play with its third-straight clean sheet. LBSU has not conceded a goal since Sept. 26, extending its shutout streak to 288:50.

The 49ers sit alone at the top of the Big West standings with nine points. They are 3-0 in league games for the first time since 2011, when they won the Big West Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight.

A well-rested UC Santa Barbara team, which hadn't played since its Big West opener on Oct. 1, dropped to 8-4-1 overall and 1-1-0 in conference action.

"UC Santa Barbara is one of the best teams we have faced this year, I'm sure they will continue to win," Long Beach State head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said. "It is important to note that this was our third game in a week, while Santa Barbara had 11 days off. In our sport, that's a very big deal, so it goes to show the tremendous character and great depth of our team to pull off these games on the road. A lot of players contributed and I couldn't be prouder of the group."

Sophomore Ashley Gonzales connected for her team-leading sixth goal, and fifth game-winner, of the season. She now has 15 career goals, putting her one away from entering the 49er all-time top-10. Gonzales also finished with two of Long Beach State's six shots. Senior Vania Robles picked up her second assist of the year.

Junior keeper Ashton McKeown totaled five saves in her eighth solo shutout of 2015, improving her goals against average to 0.48, which is currently the best in LBSU single-season history.

After playing a scoreless first half for the fifth consecutive outing, the Beach turned it up a notch in the second period. The 49ers, who outshot the Gauchos 4-to-2 over the final 45 minutes, got on the board at the 75:28 mark. Due to the pressure from the Long Beach State attackers, UCSB's keeper was unable to get a good clearance and Robles controlled the ball from about 35 yards out. She dribbled up the middle before chipping it over the back line to Gonzales, who beat the keeper to the near post in a one-on-one situation.

The Beach defense then took care of business, continuing to frustrate the Gaucho attack as the home team did not get a shot off the rest of the way. LBSU nearly made it 2-0 in the 85th minute when UC Santa Barbara was whistled for a high kick inside the 18-yard box, leading to an indirect free kick from the penalty spot. With a wall of defenders along the goal line, sophomore Jessica Vincent's attempt to the right post was caught by the keeper.

Long Beach State returns home this week to host UC Riverside on Friday, Oct. 16, before it makes the short trip to UC Irvine on Sunday, Oct. 18. The game against the Anteaters will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

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