Returning to The Pit after a month of away games, UCSB men’s lacrosse team stood victorious against UCLA Sunday with a 13-1 win.
“We have had lots of ups and downs this season, but we are in charge of our own destiny now,” commented Gaucho head coach Mario Waibel.
Senior Brendan Sindell jumpstarted the Gaucho offense by hat-tricking his way through the first quarter as UCSB came out swinging and quickly tallied four goals. Sindel danced his way through two defenders before taking an easy shot for goal number one, and his other two goals came on well-placed passes from his teammates.
The quarter ended with a fast break by sophomore Ethan Mantel in which he used a quick head-fake in front of the goal to find an opening in the back of the net.
Despite the explosive first, the Gauchos came out flat in the second. An early penalty left the Gauchos a man down, and even though UCLA could not capitalize on the penalty opportunity, the Bruins captured enough momentum to pick up their only goal later in the period.
UCLA attacker Victor Poon received a pass across the center from his teammate, Liam Harris. With a quick flick of the wrist, Poon dumped the ball past an otherwise flawless Gaucho goalie, Zack Carson.
The remainder of the game was marked by Gaucho penalties, leaving them in numerous man-down situations. The defense held strong, however, and would not yield another goal.
Carson gave up 12 goals in Saturday’s game against Claremont, motivating him for today’s game.
“We had a real crummy game yesterday,” Carson said. “But we wanted to make a statement today, and we did.”
Carson had numerous great saves throughout the game, but the highlight came during a UCLA fast break in the third quarter. In a one-on-one situation, Carson resisted a fake and shut down the Bruin shot. Gaucho freshman Irvin Kellock invigorated the offense in the third quarter when he scored just 30 seconds after being subbed into the game.
The Gauchos have three regular season games remaining. All of them will be played out of town and two will be against division opponents.
“We have three games left, and if we win them all it will be hard to keep us out [of the playoffs],” Waibel said.
Up next is Cal Poly on Wednesday night.
