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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - In its final home game of the 2021 season, the UC Santa Barbara women's soccer team (7-7-3, 5-2-1 Big West) fell to Cal Poly 2-1 on Thursday night at Harder Stadium.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Mustangs broke the scoreless tie early as Nikki Trucco netted a goal in the third minute on a ball from Brooke Rubinstein.
- Shortly after the start of the second half, the Gauchos wasted little time in evening up the scoreline as junior forward Elise Ziem set up senior forward Claire Grouwinkel in the 53rd minute for her first goal as a UCSB player.
- Just five minutes later, the Mustangs scored what would ultimately be the game-winning goal with Rubinstein picking up her second assist with a cross to Camille Lafaix in the 58th minute.
NOTABLE
- Cal Poly outshot UCSB by a two-to-one margin, 22 to 11.
- Junior goalkeeper Evann Smith put together a strong effort against the Mustangs on the defensive end, making seven saves, tied for second-most in a game this year.
- The Gauchos also added two team saves, as freshman defenders Gia Cimring and Shaye Douglas both cleared shots off the goal line.
- UCSB dropped their first game since September 26 after going unbeaten for five consecutive matches.
- The loss drops the blue and gold from second to third in the Big West table on 16 points, now five points behind Cal Poly and three behind Long Beach State. The Gauchos can still clinch a spot in the Big West Tournament with a win.
QUOTABLE
- "That might have been the best we've played in a while. We played hard, we played fast, that was a good performance against a very good team. My hope is [we] will gain a little bit of confidence from the performance itself... they found a gear, an effort level, a competitiveness that was different and I was happy about that." - UCSB head coach Paul Stumpf on the Gauchos' performance.
UP NEXT
- UCSB faces UC Irvine on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. at Anteater Stadium in the penultimate game of the regular season.
