LOS ANGELES — One day after beating No. 8 Long Beach State in sudden victory overtime, sixth-ranked UCSB (10-6, 1-2) lost to No. 2 USC (16-2, 2-2), 13-9 in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game at McDonald’s Swim Stadium.
The Gauchos got off to a slow start and allowed USC the early 3-2 advantage after the first quarter of play. USC even went up 4-2 with a nice goal from Mace Rapsey, but UCSB then kicked its game into gear. Senior, Milos Golic recorded his second goal of the day to put the game back within reach, 4-3.
UCSB missed a big opportunity to tie the game when a back-handed shot was blocked by USC goalkeeper Joel Dennerley in the second period.
Before the half ended, both teams went back and forth, exchanging goals, and each team scored two goals apiece to make the score at halftime 6-5.
Just before the half ended though, UCSB had a chance to tie the game, but they lost control of the ball when a tipped pass went into the hands of USC instead of UCSB.
Even with these possession mistakes, UCSB notched a score in the beginning of the third to tie the game at six. The lead didn’t last and shortly after, the momentum shifted to favor USC.
The Trojans rattled off four straight goals to end the third and start the fourth period. The USC goal streak was initiated by a penalty shot opportunity in the third period. Nikola Vavic converted on the shot for USC and put the Trojans up one, 7-6. They continued with three more goals and were leading 10-6, just minutes into the fourth quarter.
To end the scoring streak, UCSB earned a 6-on-5 goal to bring the score to 10-7, but it wasn’t enough. USC earned the 13-9 victory and brought its conference record to 2-2, while UCSB fell to 1-2 in MPSF play.
After recording seven goals yesterday against the 49ers, Golic led the team for scoring, tallying 10 goals over the two-day period. Golic would have had four against USC if he connected on his penalty shot late in the game, but the Trojans’ Dennerley blocked the shot.
Evan Dellinger played a solid game for the Gauchos totaling two goals in the loss. Zsombor Vinczealso scored two goals in the game after not playing in Saturday’s game due to a red card suspension. Also recording goals for UCSB were Brian Shoemaker and Dylan Baliani with one each.
Getting the start in goal for the Gauchos was Fraser Bunn, who recorded 12 saves.
The Gauchos will have a week off before traveling north to Berkeley, for their next game. They play No. 1 Cal (13-2, 2-0) next Saturday, Nov. 6 at 12 pm at Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Bears will play UC Irvine, Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount before facing the Gauchos.
USC 13, UCSB 9
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |||||||||||
| UCSB | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 9 | ||||||||||
| USC | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 13 |
UCSB Goals: Milos Golic 3, Zsombor Vincze 2, Evan Dellinger 2, Brian Shoemaker, Dylan Baliani.
UCSB Saves: Fraser Bunn 12.
USC Goals: Jeremy Davie 3, Peter Kurzeka 2, Mace Rapsey 2, Forest Monroe, Zayne Belal, Stephen Siri, Brian Boswell, Nikola Vavic, Matt Burton.
