After claiming their first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference win last weekend against UC Irvine, No. 3 UCSB fell to No. 6 Pepperdine in conference action by the score of 11-7.
In the opening period of the match, Pepperdine got on the scoreboard first with a 6:04 goal by Matthew Detrane. With 2:08 left in the period, Matt Gronow tied the game for the Gauchos. Teddy Zhang’s two-meter goal and Evan Dellinger’s score gave UCSB a 3-1 lead after one period.
With a 6-on-5 goal from Stephen Loomis and another goal from Matthew DeTrane, the Waves tied the game 3-3 with 5:17 left in the half. The Gauchos fell behind 4-3, but with a goal from Brendan McElroy with 3:02 remaining, the game was once again in a tie. Sophomore, Jake Miller had a beautiful fast break goal to give UCSB the lead but Pepperdine’s Mark Madaras tallied two late goals to give the Waves the 6-5 lead at the half.
The third period is where Pepperdine (13-7, 3-2) extended its lead as the Gauchos went scoreless. The Waves took advantage of several power plays and scored three goals to build a 9-5 lead going into the final period.
UCSB (15-6, 1-3) seemed to gain momentum late as they cut the lead to 9-7 with goals from Eric Van de Mortel and Matt Gronow.
Despite a tough defensive effort by the Gauchos, Pepperdine’s Colin Carroll scored with 4:03 remaining to increase its lead to 10-7.
Leading the Gauchos offense with two goals was Matt Gronow. Teddy Zhang, Brendan McElroy, Jake Miller, Evan Dellinger and Eric Van de Mortel added one goal apiece. Senior goalie Myles Christian had another stellar day as he recorded 11 saves.
