SAN DIEGO, Calif. - No. 9 UCSB (6-4) split its games on day one of the Triton Invitational, defeating No. 22 Cal State Northridge (5-7) 11-6 before falling to No. 6 Michigan (8-3) 7-2 later in the day. Senior Taylor Shore tied a Gaucho season-high with four goals against the Matadors, while freshman Sarah Snyder added a hat trick of her own in the win.
Cal State Northridge
The game was tied for all of 29 seconds in the Gauchos win over CSUN, as Snyder struck early to give UCSB a lead it would not relinquish. Freshman attacker Natalie Selin made it 2-0 later in the first period before the Matadors scored their first goal of the game at the 1:19 mark.
Santa Barbara enjoyed another 2-1 advantage in the second quarter, with Shore and Thomas both notching goals to make it 4-2 heading into halftime. UCSB would go on to score seven goals in the second half, as Snyder, Shore and sophomore Brenna Thomas all struck in the third to make it 7-4 heading into the fourth.
Hoping for a late comeback, Northridge cut the lead to 7-5 with a goal with 5:53 left in the game. However, UCSB answered with a 4-0 run, including two more goals from Shore and one each from Snyder and freshman Samantha Rosenberg to make it 11-5. One more Matador goal ended the game at 11-6.
Although she didn't score, sophomore Kate Pipkin led the way with five steals and three assists, both team-highs. Shore and Thomas added two drawn ejections each, while senior Sophie Trabucco tallied two assists and two steals.
Freshman goalkeeper Kenzi Snyder finished with five saves and two steals.
Michigan
After winning every quarter against Northridge, the Gauchos failed to outscore Michigan in any period, falling behind 4-0 after one. Trailing 5-0 in the second quarter, Selin scored UCSB's first goal of the game with :23 left in the opening half.
UCSB did manage to hold Michigan to just a single goal over the final three quarters, but a scoreless third for the Gauchos made it 6-1 in favor of the Wolverines heading into the fourth. Trabucco added a goal with 4:25 remaining, making it 6-2 before Michigan went on to win by a final score of 7-2.
Shore and Trabucco finished with three steals apiece to lead the way, while Pipkin had a team-high two drawn ejections. Shore also added an assist. Snyder finished with ten saves for a .588 save percentage.
It was the Wolverines' second victory over the Gauchos this season, having defeated them 7-4 at the UCSB Winter Invitational back on January 21.
The Gauchos will face No. 17 San Diego State tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. before closing out the weekend against either No. 9 San Diego or No. 18 UC Davis.
