Erica Seidman broke a scoreless match in the 60th minute with her second goal in two games and Alissa Sanchez added an insurance goal to help the UCSB women’s soccer team get past Cal State Bakersfield 2-0 Sunday at Harder Stadium.
Seidman received a cross from Kailyn Kugler in the middle of the 6-yard box, settled the ball and ripped a shot past goalkeeper Kym Gause for a 1-0 lead.
UCSB coach Paul Stumpf said Seidman’s great start to the season is a credit to hard work and perseverance.
“Erica was a bit player for three years,” Stumpf said. “The fact is, she is still here. It is a result of her resilience. She was challenged and she worked very hard to get back to the point where she is an important part of our team. I give her great admiration. She worked incredibly hard and accomplished great things.”
Sanchez scored in the 80th minute on a rebound. Sophomore Erin Ortega crossed a ball to freshman Erica Shelton, whose header was blocked by Gause, but Sanchez was right in front of the goal and finished. Shelton is from Bakersfield.
Unlike Friday’s dominating performance in the season opener, this game was a grind-it-out affair.
“While Friday was pretty, today was not,” Stumpf said. “We’ve given up eight shots in two games. Mac (freshman goalkeeper Makenna Henry) has needed one save in two games to get two shutouts. That speaks to the 10 players in front of her. They have done a great job. She (Henry) has made the right decisions, but the players in front of her have done a great job.”
Bakersfield created some outstanding chances to break through. After UCSB scored its first goal, the Roadrunners had an opportunity to knot the score when Sam Peña got past the Gauchos’ defense and went one-on-one with Henry. But Peña’s shot skittered wide to the right.
UCSB (2-0) returns to action on Friday, when it hosts Saint Joseph’s in the opener of a doubleheader at 5 p.m. In the second game, the Gaucho men play Mexico’s Under-20 national team.
