SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Aug. 22, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Soccer team scored three unanswered goals in Tuesday's Community Shield match against Westmont, recording a 3-1 victory in the 29th edition of the cross-town rivalry. Manuri Alwis' 67th-minute goal proved to be the game-winner.

"We achieved our three goals tonight," Stumpf explained. "We wanted to improve upon our style of play and identity, we wanted to get significant experience for some of our new players and we wanted to win."

For the second game in a row, the Gauchos conceded a goal within the first 10 minutes of the match, but again UC Santa Barbara did not waver. Just over halfway through the first half Lauren Helwig was fouled inside the 18-yard box and was awarded a penalty kick. The senior stepped up and put home the PK to level the match.

The Gauchos subbed in an entirely new group of student-athletes following the penalty kick. The new grouping applied lots of pressure to the Warrior back line putting five shots up with three of them being on goal, but none found their way past the Westmont keeper and the Gauchos and Warriors would go to the half tied.

As the teams made their way back to the pitch for the second half UC Santa Barbara kept the same group out there that ended the first half. Again, the Gaucho forwards and attacking midfielders continued to take an abundance of shots, but still could not find the back of the net.

In the 60th minute, UC Santa Barbara sent their next group of 11 players out on the pitch. The grouping made an immediate impact finding the back of the net just seven minutes into their shift. A turnover by the Westmont goalkeeper led to a quick attack on the offensive end for the Gauchos. Kyla Christofferson found Manuri Alwis in the center of the box and Alwis netted the go-ahead goal. Her shot went through the legs of a defender and beat the keeper to her left, ultimately resulting in the game-winning goal.

"I've been very pleased with the overall effort from the group since day one," said Stumpf. "We've seen the effort in all four of our games thus far."

UC Santa Barbara added one more goal before the match ended off the foot of Leila Emmerson to extend the lead and secure the Community Shield for the Gauchos.

UC Santa Barbara will be back in action on Thursday, Aug. 24 as they travel to Fresno, Calif. to take on Fresno State. The game marks the first of a four-game road trip for the Gauchos. The match is set to kick off at 7:00 p.m. For those unable to attend, the game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network with live stats available through gobulldogs.com.