SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Sept. 14, 2023) - The UC Santa Barbara Women's Soccer team dropped their first game in front of a home crowd on Thursday night as the Mustangs bested the Gauchos 3-1 to win the Blue-Green rivalry.

A strong first half by the Gauchos was not rewarded on the scoreboard. UC Santa Barbara possessed the ball for the majority of the first half and created some great chances, but the Gauchos were unable to find the back of the net. A foul in the 20th minute just outside the 18-yard box gave the Gauchos momentum for the remainder of the period. Two shots by Lauren Helwig and another by Stella Etcheverry nearly gave the Gauchos a first-half lead. Unfortunately, the Mustang keeper was up to the task and kept the Gauchos off the scoreboard.

Coming out of the break, Cal Poly got off to a quick start and broke the 0-0 tie in the 54th minute. A pass from the right side of the box found a Mustang on the doorstep of the goal in the middle of the 18-yard box and the Cal Poly player was able to beat Taylor Little in net. With all the momentum on their side, the Mustangs put up two more goals in a span of just over 20 minutes.

The Gauchos did not go away quietly. In the 80th minute, Lauren Helwig got past the Cal Poly backline and got a clean shot off but was denied by the keeper yet again. Luckily the rebound off the save found the foot of Olivia Howard who buried the ball and cut into the Cal Poly lead. 

The offensive pressure for the Gauchos was too little too late as they could not get another goal to make a final push and fell 3-1.

UC Santa Barbara is back at home on Sunday, Sept. 17 as they take on Saint Mary's in their final non-conference contest. Game time is set for noon with the game being streamed through ESPN+ and live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com