DAYTON, Ohio – The UC Santa Barbara women’s soccer team was handed its first defeat of the season on Friday when it dropped a 2-0 decision at the University of Dayton. The match was called in the 87th minute because of lightning.
UCSB (2-1-0) was led by senior Indiana Mead who produced four shots overall, including one on frame. Kelly McGrath had two shots, both on goal.
“We lost 2-0 tonight, but we played VERY well,” said head coach Paul Stumpf. “Like last week, we possessed the ball very well and we showed a fighting spirit that I haven’t seen in a while. The difference was that they (Dayton) took advantage of their looks on goal and we didn’t.”
Despite the defeat, junior goalkeeper Beth Ritter was solid with six saves. Flyer keeper Elizabeth James saved all five Gaucho shots.
“Some of our players stepped-up huge,” Stumpf said. “Kelly McGrath was a major standout. Geneve Dromensk was as well.”
Junior Nicole Waters scored the game-winning goal in the 63rd minute on an assist from sophomore Erin O’Malley. Waters also had an assist on junior Ashley Campbell’s header in the 73rd minute to pad UD’s lead. Water’s has a team-leading 10 points this season.
UCSB and Dayton each had two corner kicks in the clean contest.
“Tonight we started three freshman,” Stumpf said. “We played a lot of players again and most of them were up to the challenge. We played incredibly hard, and other than the loss, we are in a good place.”
The Gauchos will remain in the Buckeye State when they play at the University of Cincinnati on Sunday at 10:00 am (PDT).
