UC Santa Barbara scored six goals in its last match, a 6-1 win at Pacific. On Sunday, the Gauchos continued flexing their offensive muscle in a 4-0 win over visiting Duquesne at Harder Stadium, extending their win streak to four in a row and their unbeaten string to five.
The match was UCSB’s (6-3-2) final non-conference contest of the season. Duquesne (3-5-2) dropped its second game of a two-game road trip.
Santa Barbara has now outscored its last four opponents by a 14-1 count. In fact, the fifth game of the unbeaten run was a 0-0 tie, so the margin is actually 14-1 in the last five outings.
The Gauchos broke through in the 23rd minute. Chace Schornstein dribbled towards the center near the top of the penalty box where she found Dakota Griggs. Griggs, who was just to the right of center, slid a pass through three defenders to Indiana Mead who pounded a shot into the upper-left portion of the goal.
UCSB made it 2-0 just 48 seconds into the second half. Kate Shoemaker hit Mead with a long pass deep in the left corner. Mead hit a strong cross into the box, finding Angelisa Cortez who flicked it past Duquesne goalkeeper Vanessa Perdomo.
The Gauchos scored their third goal at 57:13. Miranda Cornejo hit a long pass to Savannah Francis who was at the right end line. Francis turned in, drove into the box and lofted a left-footed shot into the upper left part of the goal.
Santa Barbara scored its final goal in the 72nd minute as Zoe Purcell lobbed a pass into the center of the box. The ball was settled by McKinsey Martinez who turned and blasted it left of center into the goal.
UCSB goalkeeper Jacq Caginia, making her first career start, needed just two saves to post her first career victory. The Gauchos had a 24-3 edge in shots overall and a 10-2 difference in shots on goal. They also had a 10-2 advantage in corner kicks.
UCSB will open Big West play on Friday, Oct. 3 when it hosts Cal State Northridge in a 7:00 p.m. match on Meredith Field at Harder Stadium.
