Fifth-ranked UC Santa Barbara opened the Northern California Invitational with a convincing 11-4 win over No. 12 UC Davis (5-2) before it dropped its first game of the season in a narrow 8-7 loss to host No. 4 Stanford (2-0) in Saturday’s night cap.
The Gauchos (7-1) play against No. 8 Pepperdine on Sunday, with the winner vying for fifth place in the tournament.
The day’s first game against UC Davis was a defensive battle straight out of the gates with neither team scoring in the opening quarter. The Gauchos were able to convert on a counterattack with 3:13 to go in the second to open scoring. After an equalizer from the Aggies, UCSB was able to regain the advantage during a six-on-five to carry a 2-1 lead into halftime.
The Gauchos went on a tear in the second half, outscoring the Aggies 9-3 with four goals in the third and five in the fourth to take the 11-4 victory and set the stage for a pairing with No. 4 Stanford.
Against the host Cardinal – the first top-10 team that the Gauchos have faced this season – UCSB fell behind in the first quarter, 2-1. The Gauchos were able to close the gap in the second scoring three goals while letting in just two by Stanford to tie the game at four apiece at halftime.
The teams each had a trio of goals in the third quarter to set the game up for a fourth-quarter showdown. The Cardinal was able to shutdown the Gaucho offense in the final quarter and with 1:55 to go in regulation play, Bret Bonanni scored the game-winning goal to seal the 8-7 victory.
Brian Shoemaker led the Gauchos with a hat trick in the loss while Teddy Zhang tallied a pair. Goalkeeper Myles Christian tallied nine saves.
