After gaining an 8-7 lead with a goal from senior Zsombor Vincze with just under five minutes left in the game, seventh-ranked UCSB (10-10, 1-6) failed to hold on and lost to No. 4 UCLA (18-4, 6-2), 9-8, at Campus Pool in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game.
In the first period at the 7:05 mark, the Gauchos took the early 1-0 lead with a skip-shot from Lazar Komadinic. Twenty one seconds later, the Bruins answered with a goal from senior Jacob Murphy, tying the game at one.
The Bruins took their first lead later in the period with a man-up goal from Chris Wendt. UCSB charged back and tied the game at two with a goal from Matt Gronow. The first period ended in a 2-2 tie.
Entering the second quarter, the Gauchos seized the momentum and went up 4-2 with goals from Vincze and Milos Golic. UCLA earned an ejection at the 5:09 mark and Cullen Hennessey scored on the 6-on-5 opportunity to bring the score within one, 4-3.
The Bruins received their fourth goal of the game on a shot from Josh Samuels to tie the game with 3:47 left before halftime. The Gauchos answered with a goal from Golic putting them up 5-4, but the Bruins tied the game at five with Murphy’s second goal of the game.
With only 19 seconds before halftime, UCSB earned a one-goal lead on a break away score from Golic. The goal gave Golic a hat trick in the second quarter.
After halftime, the Bruins took command of the game. They scored two goals in the third period and shut the Gauchos out.
The momentum swung back to the Gauchos just 50 seconds into the final period when Vincze nailed his third goal of the game on a power play. UCSB then took a one-point lead with another goal from Vincze. The 8-7 lead for the Gauchos did not hold up though.
UCLA came back in the final four minutes and tied the game with another goal from Samuels. Just one minute later, the Bruins took the lead with the eventual game-winning goal on a shot from Murphy. The Gauchos had one last opportunity with just 1:24 left, but they couldn’t convert on the power play. The Bruins took the 9-8 victory and improved to 18-4 overall and 6-2 in the MPSF.
The loss marks the third straight one goal loss for the Gauchos, with the previous two coming to Pacific, 8-7, and to UC Irvine, 7-6. The loss also drops the Gauchos to 1-6 in conference play.
For UCLA, Murphy led the team in scoring with three goals, followed by Samuels, who had two goals. In the cage, James Hartshorne had nine saves, four coming in the third period when the Bruins held UCSB scoreless.
Golic and Vincze both recorded hat tricks for the Gauchos. Komadinic and Gronow added to the scoring with a goal each. Senior Fraser Bunn recorded eight saves in the game and played in all four quarters.
The Gauchos next opponent is Pepperdine on Saturday, Nov. 20, in their final home game of the 2010 season. All the action begins at noon at Campus Pool.
UCLA 9, UCSB 8
UCLA 2 3 2 2 – 9
UCSB 2 4 0 2 – 8
UCLA Goals: Jacob Murphy 3, Josh Samuels 2, Brett Hays 1, Chris Wendt 1, Clay Jorth 1, Ben Hohl 1
UCLA Saves: James Hartshorne 9
UCSB Goals: Milos Golic 3, Zsombor Vincze 3, Matt Gronow 1, Lazar Komadinic 1
UCSB Saves: Fraser Bunn 8
