NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - UC Santa Barbara struggled defensively in the first weekend of the Big West Conference season, but on Thursday the Gauchos and Cal State Northridge battled through a pair of scoreless 10-minute overtimes, ending in a 1-1 tie at Matador Field, and the Gauchos defense was outstanding.

UCSB (4-6-4) got on the scoreboard first, scoring off of a corner kick against the Matadors (4-4-5).

Taking the corner to the left of goalkeeper Jovani McCaskill, Shaelan Murison cracked a long ball beyond the far post. Madeline Gibson received the kick in a crowd and passed the ball to Christine Maurer who was in front of the near post. Maurer lifted a shot into the left post, over McCaskill in the 16th minute, for her fifth goal of the season.

Maurer, a freshman, has now scored her five goals in the last seven matches. She also has an assist in that span for 11 points. Her five goals are the most by a UCSB freshman since Mallory Hromatko notched nine in 2015.

CSUN tied the score at 1-1 at the 61:49 mark when Cynthia Sanchez got behind a UCSB defender inside the box and crossed a pass from right to left to Amy Aquino. Aquino beat a diving Brittney Rogers and scored just inside the left post.

"I am pleased about the defensive effort and the competitive spirit, considering some difficult circumstances," said head coach Paul Stumpf.

Both teams had opportunities late in the game and in the overtimes, but the goalkeepers kept it at 1-1. Rogers finished the 110 minutes with five saves while McCaskill had six. Maurer, who scored the Gauchos' goal, had a team-high five shots. 

UCSB will be off for a week and will return to action on Thursday, Oct. 12 when it travels to the University of Hawai'i for a Big West match that will kick-off at 10:00 p.m. (PDT).