In a rematch of the Gauchos’ season-opening win in August, UCSB faced Cal State Northridge on Friday night at Harder Stadium. While that first match didn’t count in the Big West standings, this one did as the Gauchos defeated the Matadors 1-0.
UCSB entered at 5-5-2 after splitting games last weekend; winning in Riverside 2-1 and losing in Long Beach 1-3, in their first weekend of league play. Northridge came in with a 7-5 overall record and a 2-0 record in the Big West.
“Pretty much, we had to come out with a win,” said senior forward Kaitlyn Kugler. “We went down last week with a bad loss and had to win tonight.”
By the time the final horn sounded, UCSB finished off the Matadors to move up in the Big West, and to 6-5-2 overall.
UCSB’s excellent overall play was highlighted by its ability to play extremely fast paced soccer, which showcased the Gauchos’ solid conditioning.
“It all started back in August with the fitness testing,” said Gauchos head coach Paul Stumpf. “Since then we’ve been training six days a week and our girls are very soccer fit.”
The Gauchos and the Matadors used different strategies throughout the first half, as UCSB would press forward both its left and right defenders to push more Gauchos into offensive attack, while Northridge played the exact opposite by using up to eight players on defense while rarely pressing on offense.
After each side spent the first twenty minutes feeling out the other side’s defense, UCSB was able to take advantage of their aggressive offensive tactics, winning back to back corners which eventually led to a ricochet goal by Kugler on an assist from Senior Erin Ortega. The goal was Kugler’s fourth on the year, and her 26th career goal, passing All-American Lisa Busch for 8th on the school’s all-time list.
Senior Defender Julia Speace played fierce defense holding down her left side, halting the Matadors’ offense in their futile attempts of getting the ball past her towards the goal. Speace was also key in initiating the offense, where she routinely brought the ball into Matador territory and created chances for the forwards.
Freshman Keeper Makenna Henry was not tested in the first half due to diligent defense by the Gaucho back line, facing only one shot on goal.
UCSB opened the second half with a combination of solid take-aways and counter-attacks down the left side, leading to a Kugler shot that was saved by Matador keeper Cynthia Jacobo, who saw more action than she would have liked from the Gaucho striker. Jacobo was pestered by Gaucho forwards throughout the second half as the Northridge defense never had an answer to the offensive combination of UCSB’s Kylie McDonald, Erica Siedman, Ortega, and Kugler.
“That (goal) was such a relief,” said Kugler. “It definitely was nice going into the second half with the lead, it took a little pressure off.”
Northridge’s offense remained stale, and only threatened on scoring chances that were a result of the Gauchos’ making some defensive miscues because of some miscommunication from the defensive back line and keeper Henry.
“It was a little different game,” Stumpf said. “The first time we played them we possessed the ball as well as we did, but then having the two goal cushion felt a lot more comfortable.”
Looking ahead, Stumpf thought the win was very important to the team: “a conference win at home, against the first place team really leads to a much better Sunday.”
UCSB will play UC Irvine on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Harder Stadium. No. 19 Irvine (11-1-2) is coming off a strong win against Cal Poly, 3-0, and is looking to solidify their lead atop the Big West Standings.
