IRVINE — No. 13 UC Santa Barbara (11-5) traveled to Irvine to compete in this year’s UCI Invite. UCSB faced tough competition in the first day of the tournament as they played against No. 7 San Diego State (9-4) and No. 18 University of Pacific (7-5). After dropping its match against San Diego State by the score of 11-6, the Gauchos battled back; beating Pacific, 7-4.
In its first match of the tournament, UCSB was slated for a showdown against No. 7 San Diego State.
The opening period was off as a defensive showdown as both offenses could not tally a score. The Aztecs put the first two goals on the board, but senior Shelby Haroldson answered back, making the score 2-1 after the first period.
The second period was extremely tight as both teams were firing back and forth. With goals from Lauren Martin and Jade Wentz Fitzgerald, the Gauchos tied the game at three apiece. Freshmen Jessie Porter tallied a 3:36 goal to keep the game tight as the Aztecs took a 5-4 lead at the half.
The second half was unfortunate for UCSB as San Diego State pulled away in the third period, increasing their lead to 8-4 into the final period.
The Gauchos kept up their fight as freshmen Jessie Porter and Bryn Hudson tallied two more goals to make the score 9-6. That would be all for UCSB as San Diego State came out victorious by the score of 11-6.
Looking to bounce back from the earlier loss, UC Santa Barbara faced off against No. 18 Pacific.
The first half started out slow for both teams as the Tigers kept the Gauchos to only one goal in the entire first half of play. UCSB played stout defense though, as they limited Pacific to only a 2-1 lead heading into the second half of play.
Rallying back with four unanswered goals in the third period, UC Santa Barbara took the close 5-4 lead into the final period. Contributing to the four goal outburst with two goals apiece was freshmen Jessie Porter and sophomore Jade Wentz Fitzgerald.
Carrying the tight one goal lead, the Gauchos closed out the game strong as they held the Tigers scoreless for the rest of the game. With a 7:26 goal by Bryn Hudson and a 5:55 score from Samantha Murphy, UCSB came out victorious over Pacific with the score of 7-4.
Leading the offense in the opening day of the UCI Invite was freshmen Jessie Porter with four goals while sophomore Jade Wentz Fitzgerald totaled three goals. Senior goalkeeper Ruth Milne returned to action this week, tallying 14 saves while freshmen Mackenzie Brokaw recorded three saves in today’s action.
Heading into the last day of the tournament, UC Santa Barbara is slated to play against No. 14 UC Davis at 9:15 a.m. at Corona Del Mar High School. This will be the first of two matches for the Gauchos tomorrow at the UCI Invite.
BOX SCORES
San Diego State 11, UCSB 6
1 2 3 4 Total SDSU 2 3 3 3 11 UCSB 1 3 0 2 6 UCSB Goals: Jessie Porter (2), Shelby Haroldson, Lauren Martin, Bryn Hudson, Jade Wentz Fitzgerald
UCSB Saves: Ruth Milne (7)SDSU Goals: Pezzolla (4), Whalen (2), Hermann, Long, Boland, Carballo, Schwartz
SDSU Saves: Mitchell – (8)
UCSB 7, Pacific 4
1 2 3 4 Total UOP 2 0 2 0 4 UCSB 0 1 4 2 7 UCSB Goals: Jessie Porter (2), Jade Wentz Fitzgerald (2), Rachel Nelson, Bryn Hudson, Samantha Murphy
UCSB Saves: Ruth Milne (7) Mackenzie Brokaw (3)UOP Goals: Wright (2), Martin, Smith
UOP Saves: Relton (11)
