Long Beach State welcomes 13-player signing class loaded with local So Cal talent

LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Long Beach State women’s soccer team welcomes in a recruiting class of 13 for this upcoming fall season. The group is made up of eight freshman and five transfers.

“This is a balanced class from a soccer standpoint,” said head coach Mauricio Ingrassia. “It’s a class of versatility and great people who are all going to be great additions to The Beach. We can’t wait for the season to get started and games to get going because a lot of them will factor in to our success.”

Natalie Arnold | Defender | Hemet, Calif. | Legends FC

Arnold comes to Long Beach State after a tremendous career at Hemet High School. As a senior with the Bulldogs, she was named First Team All-League, All-Valley Athlete of the Year, First Team All-CIF, First Team All-Inland Empire, Citrus Belt Athletic Directors Player of the Year, Hemet Valley Sportsman of Clubs Female Athlete of the Year, and the Hemet Unified Senior Athlete of the Year. She also led her team to the CIF State Championship and CIF Finals Runner-Up. As part of Legends FC, where she helped her team win the 2019 National League Championship as well as making it to the ECNL Playoff Finals in 2022.

Brooklyn Antonucci | Defender | Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. | Legends FC

Antonucci put together an impressive resume at Etiwanda High School, leading her team to three Baseline League titles. In all three of her varsity seasons, she earned First Team All-CIF honors along with league MVP honors as both a junior and senior. She closed out her high school career as the Inland Empire Player of the Year and Etiwanda Athlete of the Year. She also totaled eight years with Legends FC where she served as team captain.

Jordan Candelaria | Midfielder | Albuquerque, N.M. | Sandia HS

Candelaria graduated high school early, spending her first semester of college at the University of Cincinnati. However, she comes to the Beach for her first NCAA season after being named the New Mexico Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior at Sandia High School. Scoring 26 goals and 15 assists, she was named an All-American and a 5A First Team All-State selection. Playing 14 years with NMSA 05 girls club soccer, she was a three-time NM State Cup Champion, two-time Arsenal Challenge Champion, and 2020 USYS Desert Conference Champion.

Kassandra Ceja | Forward | Lathrop, Calif. | Fresno State

Ceja spent her first three years of collegiate soccer at Fresno State, earning multiple All-Mountain West honors. In 46 games, she totaled 16 goals and nine assists with a .500 shot on goal percentage. Her sophomore season saw a single-season best eight goals, including three-game winners, and a hat track against UCSB. She ended her Bulldog career ranked tied for tenth all-time for career goals. Out of high school, she was Lathrop’s all-time leading scorer with 130 goals in three seasons, including a single-season record of 61 goals and single-game record of seven. As a senior, she played with the San Jose Earthquakes Academy where she scored 17 goals in 17 games for the US Development Academy team.

Makayla Demelo | Midfielder | Bellflower, Calif. | Loyola Marymount

Demelo spent her first two collegiate seasons at LMU which included a redshirt year as a true freshman. Making her debut during the 2022 campaign, she totaled 805 minutes on the year recording a .417 shot on goal percentage. She played varsity soccer at Mayfair High School before transferring to Capistrano Connections Academy. In the club scene, she totaled 12 years at Beach FC highlighted by a third place overall finish in the 2018 DA Nationals.

Julie Lopez | Midfielder | Sylmar, Calif. | LAFC So-Cal

Lopez joins the Beach family as the lone midfielder in the class after four years of varsity soccer at El Camino Real High School. As a junior, she led her team to a league championship and earned All-League honors. Already owning national experience, she was named to the u17 Mexican National Team. With Team Mexico, she played in the FIFA Women’s u17 World Cup this past November.

Amanda Perez | Forward | Downey, Calif. | Loyola Marymount

Perez enters as a sophomore transfer after playing her first collegiate season at LMU. Playing in 15 games, she scored a pair of goals in 400 minutes on the pitch. In high school, she played varsity all four years at Downey High School, earning All-CIF, First Team All-League, and Rookie of the Year as a freshman. A member of Slammers FC for 11 years, she was a 2019 US Youth Soccer West Region Camp Invitee and the leading scorer on her Cal South Regional Championship winning team.

Natalia Puccio | Defender | West Hills, Calif. | LA Pierce College

Puccio began her collegiate career at the junior college level with two seasons at Los Angeles Pierce College. Starting all 39 of her team’s games in the two years, she was named Defensive Player of the Year, MVP, and First Team All-Conference in consecutive seasons. Making an impact on the offensive side of the ball as well, she totaled 11 goals and three assists. In high school, she led her El Camino Real team to three West Valley Conference championships earning All-League as a junior and senior.

Alanah Ramirez | Forward | Encinitas, Calif. | ALBION SC

Ramirez is one of two freshmen strikers coming to Long Beach State for next season after three years of varsity soccer at Cathedral Catholic High School. Her career got off to a tremendous start, scoring 30 goals on the JV team as a freshman earning the promotion to varsity the following year. In her first two years on varsity, she helped her team win back-to-back league titles with an Open Division State Finals appearance. She ended her career with a Second Team All-League honors as a senior. With Albion SC, , Ramirez led her team to the Girls Academy Playoffs in both 2021 and 2022 totaling 18 goals in 21 games.

Aurora Schuck | Goalkeeper | Lakewood, Calif. | Washington State

Schuck is the lone goalie of the class transferring to the Beach from Washington State. Playing the first season of her collegiate season with the Cougars, she made her debut with two saves as part of a clean sheet against Northern Colorado. Coming out of high school, she helped lead her Los Alamitos High School team to a league title and semifinal run in the CIF playoffs. In a shortened season, she recorded 11 shutouts and allowed just six goals throughout the year.

Kailey Supa | Forward | Woodland Hills, Calif. | LAFC So-Cal

Supa is one of two freshmen strikers in the recruiting class, coming from Oaks Christian High School. Totaling eight goals and nine assists, she led her team to a Marmonte League title as a senior as well as consecutive championships in her freshman and sophomore seasons. She was also a two-time All-League Second Team selection. A member of the LAFC So-Cal team, she led her team to the 2018 US Youth Soccer ODP West Region Championship and earned an invite to the US Youth Soccer West Region ODP Camp in Colorado. The following year, Supa also earned an invite to the 2019 US Youth Soccer ODP Girls National Training Camp in Tampa.

Kana Uchida | Defender | Urayasu City, Japan | JEF United Ichihara Chiba

Uchida comes to the Beach from Japan where she was a starting defender for one of the top club teams in Tokyo, JEF Ichihara Chiba, and also spent time with the U-17 Japan Women’s National Team. Since 2019, she helped guide her team to two National Club Youth Cup titles and a U-18 National Cup title. In 2022, she was named the MVP of the National Club Youth Cup after leading her team to their second title in three years.

Zoe Willis | Defender | Temecula, Calif. | Legends FC

Willis comes to the Beach after leading one of the best high schools in the nation in Temecula Valley High School. Depending on publication, her squad ranked No. 1 or 2 across the board, totaling 18 shutouts on their way to the 2021-22 California State Championship. In her four years, she helped her team to four league titles and Defensive MVP all four seasons. Willis also played club with Legends FC, where her team was the 2020-21 DPL National Champions. Last year, she was an ECNL Southwest Region First Team honoree.

The first chance to see Long Beach State in action will be Saturday, August 12 at 7 p.m. as they host USC for an exhibition game. Their season opener will be five days later against Texas on Thursday, August 17 at 7 p.m.