DAVIS, Calif. – No. 14 UC Davis (12-13, 1-0) ended No. 10 UCSB's (14-7, 0-1) five-game winning streak in the two teams' Big West season-opener on Saturday, handing the Gauchos a 9-6 road defeat. The loss ended UCSB's run of six consecutive wins over Big West opponents dating back to last season.
Senior utility Taylor Shore and freshman utility Sarah Snyder led the way with two goals each, but it was not enough to overcome a slow start that saw UCSB trail 3-0 out of the gates and 7-2 midway through the third quarter.
After being shutout through one period, the Gauchos found themselves trailing 3-0 before Snyder notched her first goal of the day with 5:13 to go in the second. Following a Davis goal, redshirt senior Miranda Schrader would score with 22 seconds left in the half to cut the Aggies' lead to 4-2. However, Davis would respond just before the halftime whistle, capitalizing on a power play and scoring with just two seconds left to head into the break leading 5-2.
Davis would have the upper hand in the third quarter as well, extending the lead to 7-2 with a pair of goals and holding UCSB scoreless until the 2:42 mark, when Shore put away her first score of the day to make it 7-3.
With UCSB still trailing by four heading into the fourth, Davis sophomore Annie Kutt would push the Aggies lead back up to five at 8-3, scoring her game-high third goal of the day with just under seven minutes remaining. The Gauchos would answer with two straight goals from Shore and Snyder, cutting the deficit to 8-5 and marking the only time in the game that they went on a two-goal run.
Unfortunately for UCSB, it was too little too late, as both sides would trade goals over the final three and a half minutes, bringing it to an 9-6 final in the Aggies' favor. Sophomore Kate Pipkin scored the Gauchos final goal with 44 seconds left on the clock.
Pipkin recorded a team-high two assists, while Snyder, freshman Abbey Grosse and sophomore Sarah Kreiser all tallied one helper apiece. Kreiser also accounted for both of the Gauchos' field blocks.
Defensively, senior Brenna Thomas had a team-high three steals, while Shore and seniors Sophie Trabucco and Jenna Solberg finished with two each. Freshman goalkeeper Kenzi Snyder had two saves in the cage.
After several weeks off, UCSB will look forward to its second Big West game of the season on Thursday, Mar. 30 at No. 8 Hawai'i.
