LONG BEACH - The Long Beach State women's soccer team controlled the pace of the game from start to finish and used a pair of second-half goals to emerge with a 2-1 victory over Denver Sunday afternoon at George Allen Field.

The Beach (2-1-1) finished the day with a commanding 16-to-6 advantage in shot attempts. They also had a season-high nine corner kicks, while the Pioneers did not have any.

Sophomore Mimi Rangel scored the equalizer at the 73:30 mark, and junior Hannah Sanders put away the game-winner just over seven minutes later to give LBSU the comeback win. Freshman Ashley Gonzales, who was coming off a two-goal performance against Georgia on Friday, added her first career assist.

Rangel and Gonzales combined for 12 of the 49ers' 16 shots, with seven and five attempts, respectively. Sophomore goalkeeper Ashton McKeown also picked up her second-straight win, improving to 2-1-1 on the year.

Although Long Beach State kept possession for a majority of the first half, it came out trailing, 1-0, as Taylor Ivins was able to slip past the back line and beat McKeown to the lower left corner in a one-on-one to give Denver the lead at the 37:39 mark. Both teams had four shots in the opening period.

LBSU continued to press in the second half, where it outshot the Pioneers, 12-to-2. Rangel had a few good looks that just missed before she found the back of the net to tie it up at the 73:30 mark. Gonzales started the play by chipping the ball over the defense and a speedy Rangel was able to get to it first, sending a sliding shot past the oncoming keeper.

Then, with just over nine minutes to go, Sanders positioned herself perfectly inside the box as she buried the game-winner into an open net following a deflection off a failed clearance by the Denver defense.

The Pioneers, who have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two years, dropped to 1-2-1 on the season. Six different players finished with one shot each, while goalkeeper Cassidy Rey had three saves.

Long Beach State will continue its season-long four-match homestand on Friday, Sept. 5, when it welcomes the University of San Diego to George Allen Field for a 7:30 p.m. non-conference game.

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