Box Score SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – UC Santa Barbara got two goals apiece from Shaelan Murison and Christine Maurer and dominated from start to finish in a 4-0 thrashing of Denver University on Sunday afternoon at Harder Stadium.
The Gauchos (4-4-3) scored a season-high goal total at the expense of the Pioneers (4-6-1).
Murison, a sophomore, struck first. At the 26:43 mark, UCSB was awarded a direct free kick from just outside the top of the box on the right side. Murison pounded the ball over the defensive wall and past Denver's leaping goalkeeper, Brittany Wilson, to give her team a 1-0 advantage.
Santa Barbara doubled the advantage with just 1:24 to play in the first half. Maurer, a freshman, took a feed from Amanda Ball and blasted a shot just inside the left upper portion of the penalty box at 43:36. The powerful shot eluded Wilson and gave the Gauchos a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.
The Pioneers, meanwhile, could muster just one shot in the first 45 minutes and that shot came as the half ended and floated well wide of the goal.
Maurer scored her second goal of the match and third of the season in the 70th minute when Lynsee Voss found her driving down the right side of the penalty box. Maurer dribbled slightly to her left and found the right side of the goal to make the score 3-0.
Murison scored her second goal at the 88:56 mark as she received the ball from Hailey Barrett, drove down the right sideline, cut in slightly and powered a shot from about 25 yards out, into the back of the goal, completing the 4-0 shutout.
"We've been telling them how good they are, but it doesn't matter how good we believe they are," said head coach Paul Stumpf. "This reminded them that they can play possession-oriented soccer, they can defend well and they can put some balls in the back of the net. I'm so happy for the team."
In all, UCSB collected 22 total shots, including 11 on goal. Denver was limited to a mere two shots, neither of which was on frame. The home team also had a 6-1 edge in corner kicks.
The victory was the Gauchos' first since they won 1-0 at Minnesota on Sept. 1. It comes at a good time too as they will open Big West Conference play on Friday, Sept. 29 when they host UC Riverside in a 7:00 p.m. game at Harder Stadium.
