UC Santa Barbara followed its debut weekend at Triton Invite with two tight games versus strong opponents. The Gauchos fell to UCLA, 11-10, and Long Beach State, 11-8.
Derek Shoemaker and Spencer Likens led the Gauchos’ scoring team for the day tallying three goals each.
UCLA
The game began with the Bruins leading the Gauchos 2-0 off two scoring power plays. UCSB quickly rebounded with a goal from Liam Gaughan off an ejection, followed by a goal by Derek Shoemaker off a timeout play.
The Bruins would go on to score off of two more Gaucho ejections to finish the first quarter up by two.
Santa Barbara would open the second quarter with a 6-on-5 goal from Shoemaker and a goal from Josh Jordan to tie up the game.
Several penalties later, Shane Hauschild landed a scoring penalty shot that put the Gauchos up 5-4 at the half.
UCLA started off the third quarter with a goal from a defensive scramble after a Gaucho ejection. Santa Barbara would climb on top again one possession later with a power play goal from Reed Cotteril.
The Bruins would go on to score again off 6-on-5, but UCSB quickly returned with a goal from Shoemaker. In the final minute of the quarter UCLA scored two more goals to put them on top going in to the final quarter.
The score was tight all through the fourth quarter, with goals from Nick Jordan, Anthony Bulgan, and Reed Cotteril, but it wouldn’t be enough to hold off UCLA. They out-scored the Gauchos 7-4 in the second half of the game and took the win, 10-11.
Long Beach State
Nick Jordan had a 6-on-5 goal in the first possession to put the first points up on the board for the day. Mitch Hamilton followed with a goal to give the Gauchos a two-point lead to start the game.
Long Beach would gain momentum, however, scoring two goals to tie it up. With a minute to go in the first, Spencer Likens scored on a 6-on-5 to put the Gauchos on top 3-2 going in to the second quarter.
The 49ers tied it up 3-3 in the start of the second, but the Gauchos tallied two goals from Shane Hauschild and Josh Jordan to extend their lead. Long Beach would score in the final seconds of the first half to bring the score to 4-5.
The Gauchos held off the 49ers in the first half of the third quarter with two goals from Spencer Likens, but Long Beach would once again momentum, and this time it would not stop until the game was over. They scored five goals in the third quarter alone to give them a two-point lead going in to the final quarter.
Max Schaum had a goal in the fourth quarter, but it wouldn’t be enough to trump Long Beach, who won the game 11-8.
