STOCKTON — One day after losing to No. 3 UCLA in its opening match at the MPSF Championship, No. 6 UC Santa Barbara (16-11) looked to rebound from the tough loss with a win over No. 7 Long Beach State (20-13). UCSB was unable to pull out the victory today as the 49ers escaped with a narrow 11-10 victory.
The opening period was competitive throughout as the Gauchos and 49ers were locked into a defensive matchup. Long Beach State got on the board first with a 6-on-5 goal by Nolan McConnell. After another goal by Long Beach State, Santa Barbara answered back with two straight goals from Kevin Cappon and Tor Jensen; ending the first period with a 2-2 tie.
The Gauchos got off to another slow start at the beginning of the second period, allowing four straight goals from the 49ers. Falling behind, 6-2, UCSB bounced with two straight goals from Matt Gronow and Eric Van de Mortel. At the end of the half, the Gauchos faced a tough deficit, 7-4.
Sophomore, Kevin Cappon, got the Gauchos off to a fast start in the third period with a 6:58 score to make the score 7-5. Long Beach State answered back with a goal from Ricardo Guimares. UCSB once again answered back as senior, Matt Gronow scored from the left corner to make the score 8-6. UCSB faced a 9-6 deficit heading into the last period of the match.
The excitement and action packed final period almost ended up with a Gaucho comeback. With his second goal of the match, Kevin Cappon scored an impressive goal with 6:43 left in the period. Falling behind 10-7, UCSB made its final push as Cappon and Van de Mortel scored two consecutive goals for the Gauchos. With1:14 left and one goal behind, UCSB was on the verge of making an unbelievable comeback until the 49ers scored a late :49 second goal. Matt Gronow netted a late :37 goal, but the comeback fell short as the Gauchos suffered a tough 11-10 loss.
Up next for the Gauchos is a consolation match against No. 8 UC Irvine. The match will take place tomorrow, at Chris Kjeldsen Pool at 10 a.m.
LBSU 11, UCSB 10
1 2 3 4 Final LBSU 2 5 2 2 11 UCSB 2 2 2 4 10 LBSU Goals: Nolan McConnell (4) Milos Vrzic (3) Ricardo Guimares (2) Zacchary Kappos (2)
LBSU Saves: Pavo Ljepopio (10)UCSB Goals: Kevin Cappon (4) Matt Gronow (3) Eric Van de Mortel (2) Tor Jensen
UCSB Saves: Chris Whitelegge (10)
