SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Sept. 10, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Soccer team got back in the win column with a 1-0 victory over Idaho. Haley Phillips' goal in the 60th minute proved to be the difference.
"I am so glad that our players have finally been rewarded with a win considering all of their hard work," said Stumpf. "Our midfield did a ton of running and connected well to keep pressure off our back line."
An evenly played opening half by UC Santa Barbara and Idaho saw a plethora of substitutions on the hot September day. All but one field player for the Gauchos was substituted for in the first half. Idaho had the first good chance of the day but keeper Taylor Little would deny the Vandals of gaining the early advantage. After another save in the eighth minute UC Santa Barbara settled in and got back to playing their style of soccer.
"I thought Taylor made a pretty good argument for Player of the Game for us," said Head Coach Paul Stumpf. " She managed some crosses well, her distribution was solid, and she made three important saves for us to keep the shut out."
Coming out of halftime, Idaho was able to get four shots off in the first six minutes but Little was again up to the task not allowing the ball to find the back of the net. Little's play energized the Gauchos and UC Santa Barbara ripped off four of their own shots with one beating the Vandal keeper.
In the 60th minute of play, O'Callaghan Liu connected with Haley Phillips on the doorstep of the goal and Phillips netted her first goal of the season to give the Gauchos the lead. After the Gaucho goal, Idaho stepped up their offensive pressure but each shot they took for the remainder of the game was off-target.
In the 78th minute of play, Jessica Carlton nearly put the game away with a shot that hit the left post. The Vandals cleared the ball and were able to dodge the scare. UC Santa Barbara controlled the ball for most of the final minutes of play and came away with a win and shutout against Idaho.
The Gauchos will be back in action on Thursday, Sept. 14 for the Blue-Green Rivalry match against Cal Poly. UC Santa Barbara will host the Mustangs at Harder Stadium with a 7 p.m. kick-off.
