SANTA CLARA – No. 17 UCSB (2-0) continued its season-opening road swing on Friday afternoon with a 9-4 victory over Santa Clara (0-1) at the Broncos’ Sullivan Aquatic Center.
On the way to the win, junior goalkeeper Ruth Milne set a new UCSB record for career blocks as she brought her career total to 598 saves, surpassing previous record-holder Yvonne Conard’s 595.
Kacey Creek, who tallied four goals in the Gauchos’ season-opening win over Cal State Monterey Bay on Thursday, once again led the UCSB offense as she posted two goals.
UCSB was able to get out to a 2-1 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. The Gauchos had a four-goal surge in the second quarter and took a 6-2 lead into halftime.
In the third, UCSB tallied three more goals while holding the Broncos scoreless. Santa Clara was able to shut down the Gauchos in the final stanza while mustering two goals, but the late surge wasn’t enough as UCSB won its second straight, 9-4.
The Gauchos will spend the next two days competing in the San Jose State Spartan Invitational. UCSB will face No. 16 UC Davis and No. 5 San Jose State on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m., respectively.
UCSB 9, SANTA CLARA 4
1 2 3 4 Final UCSB 2 4 3 0 9 Santa Clara 1 1 0 2 4 UCSB Goals: Kacey Creek 2, Lauren Martin, Molly Hafferkamp, Bryce Winton, Nancy Ruano, Shelby Haroldson, Elle Quane, Rachel Nelson.
UCSB Saves: Ruth Milne 6.Santa Clara Goals: Jenny Anderson 2, Marina Allen, Alexandria Cabral.
Santa Clara Saves: June Afshar 1.
