Santa Barbara – The visiting CSU Bakersfield proved to be unable to go up against the UCSB women’s soccer team as the Gauchos took command of the match in a 2-0 win Sunday night at Harder Stadium.
The Gauchos (3-3-2) came out with a strong offensive attack in the first half to put them up over the Roadrunners (0-7-1). In the 18th minute, senior midfielder Kelly McGrath passed a ball from the right side of the field towards the front of the goal box where Angelisa Cortez was waiting. Cortez dribbled the ball away from two Bakersfield defenders and shot the ball into the net, past the diving Roadrunner goalkeeper Tori Ornela.
At the 40:03 mark, UCSB appeared to have its second goal before the half ended. Sophomore forward Cristina Polini launched the ball into air and Geneve Dromensk was able to time her jump perfectly for a header. As Ornela made a leap for the ball, it hit the crossbar and nothing came out of the play.
The Roadrunners seemed exhausted in the second half as the Gauchos would continually take away possession from them. As UCSB had players flying up and down the field, each pass by CSU Bakersfield was intercepted by a Gaucho. This dominance would eventually lead to UCSB’s second goal.
Following a second corner kick from Dakota Griggs, senior defender Miranda Cornejo fought her way through a group of Bakersfield players and was poised to take her shot. However, a Roadrunner defender came away with a save as she stood directly in front of the box and blocked the ball from getting through her.
Cornejo would respond with another booming shot that help put the Gauchos up 2-0 in the 64th minute and secure the win. After a throw in from the right side by a Roadrunner, the ball was in the midst of going towards another Bakersfield player when Cornejo ran her way up the middle of the field and one-timed the ball into the net from 30 yards out.
In the end, UCSB had a demanding 21-2 shot edge, with another 11-0 shots on goal advantage. Dromensk took the most shots out of the match with four, while Cortez, McGrath, and Indiana Mead each took three.
“This was another fairly dominant performance,” remarked head coach Paul Stumpf. “We finally got some goals and the reward of a win.”
The Gauchos’ defense looked excellent once again as they did not allow CSU Bakersfield to take their pair of shots until the second half. Sydney Fuertes, Savannah Francis, and Miranda Cornejo have been rocks for the UCSB team with their speed and endurance. Kelly McGrath has also been reliable, as she has started in every game and played in just about every minute. She was surprisingly taken out of the match to rest with less than six minutes left of play.
“The back six were great again! They gave up two shots all throughout the game and took over 20. Miranda scored a great goal from that many yards out,” said Stumpf. “I hope for some confidence to build on for the ladies’ next three non-conference games.”
UCSB returns to action on Friday, Sept. 19 when it travels to Sacramento State for a 4:00 p.m. match at Hornet Field. The Gauchos then go to Pacific on Sept. 21 for a Sunday afternoon match at 1:00 p.m. at Knoles Field.
