LONG BEACH, Calif. (Oct. 30, 2022) – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Soccer team competed in the opening round of The Big West Championships. As the No. 5 seed heading into this game, the Gauchos traveled to the fourth-seeded Long Beach State for a rematch from their match at Harder Stadium a week ago. Even though the Gauchos got the win a week ago, it was the Beach who won today's match in double overtime as Long Beach State won 2-1 over the Gauchos. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
As all UC Santa Barbara Women's Soccer games are, this was a very physical game between these two teams. The first 45 minutes of this game was scoreless, the action was there, setting the scene for the second half of this match.

Once the two teams were back on the field, it didn't take long for a team to score. The Beach came out in the first two minutes and scored, causing the Gauchos to play from behind from there. The rest of the second half went on without a goal until the 82nd minute. Lauren Helwig took a great cross from O'Callaghan Liu and headed it past Long Beach State's goalkeeper, tying the game 1-1.

With that goal, the game went into overtime. The new collegiate soccer rules this season require two 10-minute halves to be played for overtime in this situation instead of golden goal. Like the second half, the Beach scored in the first two minutes of the first overtime period, causing the Gauchos to play from behind yet again. Despite their efforts, it wasn't enough for the Gauchos to pull out a win, ending their season with a 2-1 loss to Long Beach State. 

LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Helwig's goal is her seventh on the season with puts her at 15 points to finish the season. With her five goals in as many games, she ended the season as the team's leading goal and point scorer.
• The assist on Helwig's goal from Liu was her first assist of the season, which was also her first point. Liu is one of two players on this Gaucho roster to start in every single game this season.
• The Gauchos showed they are more accurate with their shots and put more pressure on the other team's defense. UC Santa Barbara put up seven shots on goal compared to Long Beach State's five. The Gauchos also had more corner kicks with six and less fouls with seven.
• Taylor Little subbed into the match in the second half and made key plays for the Gauchos. In 63 minutes in the net, Little made three saves.

IN CONCLUSION…
This game was the last one for the Gauchos this season. UC Santa Barbara Women's Soccer ends the season with a 4-3-3 Big West record and a 5-9-6 overall record. The team had three All-Big West honorees. Helwig was named to the All-Big West First Team while Liu was an All-Big West Honorable Mention. Along with those two, Emma Corcoran earned a spot on the All-Freshman team.