SANTA BARBARA, Calif.— With this being the last home match for seniors, Kacey Creek, Shelby Haroldson, Ruth Milne and Rachel Nelson, No. 16 UC Santa Barbara (19-10, 2-2) rode the emotions on Senior Day and pulled off the upset over No. 6 San Diego State University (20-9, 4-2) with an 8-5 victory.
The beginning moments of the match deemed a defensive showdown as both teams were playing stout defense. UC Santa Barbara cracked the scoreboard first as freshman Samantha Murphy scored her first of three goals on a 6-on-5 opportunity to give the Gauchos the lead. After San Diego State University tied it, senior Kacey Creek scored back to back goals to give UCSB the 3-1 lead with 1:40 left in the opening period. At the conclusion of the first period, the Gauchos held a slim 3-2 lead.
The Aztecs came out fast in the second period as Alex Ford tied the match on a 6:37 score. Despite the early pressure from San Diego State, UCSB opened up a 5-3 lead at the half with goals from Samantha Murphy and senior leader Shelby Haroldson.
The third period was the turning point as the Gauchos played a great all around game. Both Samantha Murphy and senior Kacey Creek obtained their hat tricks as they helped UCSB to an 8-4 lead over the tough Aztec team.
No. 16 UC Santa Barbara never looked back, as they never faced a deficit in this game. With today's match being the last home game for the seniors, the Gauchos bid them a good farewell with a well earned 8-5 victory over the No. 6 San Diego State University Aztecs.
Next up on the schedule for UCSB are two tough road matches; with both being Big West Conference matches. The Gauchos will travel to No. 7 UC Irvine to play the Anteaters on Saturday, April 13 at noon and then travel to No. 9 Long Beach State for an anticipated match on Sunday, April 14 at noon.
SDSU 5, UCSB 8
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
|
SDSU |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
|
UCSB |
3 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
8 |
SDSU Goals: Taelor Moreno (2) Alex Ford (2) Amber Pezzolla
UCSB Goals: Kacey Creek (3) Samantha Murphy (3) Shelby Haroldson, Bryn Hudson
UCSB Saves: Ruth Milne (12)