IRVINE — On the second day of play in the UC Irvine Invitational, No. 15 UC Santa Barbara (9-6) had their heart-broken twice as they fell to No. 11 San Jose State (9-8) 11-9, and No. 10 UC Irvine (8-5) 8-6 in two tight matched non-conference games.
Four Gauchos record hat tricks over the two-game span including seniors Claire Buchanan, Kathryn Nelson, Christie Clark and sophomore Shelby Haroldson.
In the first game the Gauchos were tied after the first period at three, but the Spartans recorded five goals in the second period to take a two goal lead into halftime, 8-6.
In the third period the Gauchos allowed three goals and only scored once.
The Gauchos made a strong push in the last period of the game but it was not enough to claim the victory.
Buchanan and Clark both recorded hat tricks for the Gauchos, while Nelson, Haroldson and freshman attacker Molly Hafferkamp each recorded one goal.
Ruth Milne recorded 8 saves in the game.
UCSB then had to face UC Irvine as both teams lost their first games of the day.
The Anteaters were aggressive in the first period and claimed three goals to the Gauchos’ one. Although both teams scored two goals each in the second period, in the third period the Anteaters held the Gauchos scoreless and scored on UCSB twice.
UCSB once again posted a reasonable comeback, but fell short. They scored three times before the game ended, but the single goal in the last period for UCI pushed the lead to two goals and out of reach for the Gauchos. UCI improved to 8-5 on the season as the Gauchos fell to 9-6.
UCSB will now look to bounce back in the Cal Lutheran Mini Tournament on Friday, March 4.
SAN JOSE STATE 11, UCSB 9
SJSU 3 5 3 0 11
UCSB 3 3 1 2 9
SJSU goals: Kelly Stewart – 1, Henry – 1, Dani Curran – 2, Timi Molnar – 3, Adriana Vogt – 4
UCSB goals: Claire Buchanan – 3, Kathryn Nelson – 1, Christie Clark – 3, Shelby Haroldson – 1, Molly Hafferkamp – 1
Saves: Minson (SJSU) – 8, Ruth Milne (UCSB) – 8
UC IRVINE 8, UCSB 6
UCI 3 2 2 1 8
UCSB 1 2 0 3 6
UCSB goals: Kathryn Nelson – 2, Shelby Haroldson – 2, Kacey Creek – 1, Rachel Nelson – 1
UCI goals: Jessy Cardey – 1, Olivia Cummins – 1, Cortney Collyer – 2, Taylor Morrison – 2, Hannah Croghan – 1, Danielle Warde – 1
Saves: Ruth Milne (UCSB) – 10, Avetoom (UCI) – 3
