Behind a strong defensive effort, No. 14 UC Santa Barbara (15-11) defeated visiting Brown, 8-5, at Campus Pool on Monday afternoon in its final game prior to the opening of Big West Conference play.
The Gauchos took the early lead when Lauren Martin scored the first of her two six-on-five goals just 34 seconds into the game.
After a rather uneventful first quarter, the Bears got two early opportunities to even the score with a pair of power plays in the opening minutes of the second quarter. Goalkeeper Ruth Milne, however, thwarted their shot attempts to keep the Gauchos ahead. Kacey Creek pushed the Gaucho lead to two with 3:51 to go, but Kate Woods countered with a goal on the following possession to put the score at 2-1.
With 1:30 left in the half, Molly Hafferkamp got the ball inside the two-meters on a counter attack. She spun away to break free from the defender on her back before sending the ball into the back of the Bear’s goal.
Leading, 3-1, the Gauchos opened the second half with consecutive goals from Martin and Creek. With 3:44 on the clock, Liz Rosen scored the first of her two goals to cut the Brown deficit to three.
Shelby Haroldson and Rosen traded goals to open the final stanza. UCSB was able to draw a five-meter penalty on Rosen during the next possession and Bryce Winton converted the free shot to push the Gauchos ahead, 7-3.
With 2:09 to go in the game, Rachel Nelson scored from outside the left post on a beautiful catch-and-release shot during a Gaucho six-on-five to give UCSB an 8-3 advantage.
Brown tacked on a pair of goals in the last minute of the game, including a converted five-meter penalty by Kate Woods. The late rally was not be enough as UCSB sealed up the 8-5 victory.
Milne had yet another outstanding effort in the goal for the Gauchos, tallying 14 saves.
UCSB will remain at home this weekend as it opens conference play against Long Beach State on Saturday, March 31 at noon.
UCSB 8, BROWN 5
Brown 0 1 1 3 – 5
UCSB 1 2 2 3 – 8
UCSB Goals: Kacey Creek 2, Lauren Martin 2, Molly Hafferkamp 1, Shelby Haroldson 1, Rachel Nelson 1, Bryce Winton 1.
UCSB Saves: Ruth Milne 14.Brown Goals: Liz Rosen 2, Kate Woods 2, Sarah Presant 1.
Brown Saves: Evan Cranston 6.
