No. 5 UCSB fought hard against the number three ranked team in the nation but came up short in its upset bid Saturday afternoon at Campus Pool. Trailing 6-4 at half, the Gauchos tied the game at seven in the fourth quarter, but Cal’s Collin Smith scored with 3:02 left to play to hold off UCSB.
Sophomore Teddy Zhang scored inside the five-meter line for the first goal of the game. Cal responded and the first quarter ended in a 1-1 tie. The game had a noticeably physical tone early, as both teams tried to gain the upperhand.
Cal’s Ivan Rackov scored two of the Bears’ five goals in the high scoring second period. Early in the quarter, whenever Cal would score, UCSB would have an answer. Freshman Derek Shoemaker tied the game at two and junior Jesse Gillespie evened the match at three. But the Bears then scored three times to take a 6-3 lead with 1:59 to go till half. With 1:20 to go, the Gauchos answered with a man-up goal from freshman Liam Gaughan to go into the break with some momentum.
SmithThe third quarter featured seven ejections and a goal from each team. Junior Brian Shoemaker scored first to make the game 6-5 before Cal’s Cory Nasoff put the Bears back up by two heading into the fourth.
The Gauchos scored twice in the third minute, including a rocket from sophomore Matt Gronow into the back of the net. The next few minutes were dominated by tense, defensive possessions, as both teams tried to get inside for the goal. After Cal scored, UCSB couldn’t seem to find rhythm offensively to try and even the game. A costly turnover on the final possession doomed the Gauchos, who put up a fine defensive effort.
Junior Myles Christian had a standout game in goal with nine saves. Christian came out of the net several times to battle with Cal players for position and made several great saves.
UCSB plays No. 8 Pacific tomorrow, Nov. 6 at 12 p.m. at Campus Pool in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game. The Gauchos are now 14-8 overall and 2-3 in the MPSF.
CAL 8, UCSB 7
UCSB 1 3 1 2 – 7
Cal 1 5 1 1 – 8
UCSB Goals: Zhang, D. Shoemaker, Gillespie, Gaughan, B. Shoemaker, Johnson, Gronow
UCSB Goalkeeper Saves: Christian 9
Cal Goals: Rackov 2, Greenwood 2, L. Saponjic, A. Saponjic, Nasoff, Smith
Cal Goalkeeper Saves: Parsons 8
