IRVINE, Calif. (Sept. 21, 2023) - The UC Santa Barbara Women's Soccer team trailed UC Irvine 2-0 at the half, but fought back to tie up the game at 2-2 on the road at Anteater Stadium. Goals by freshmen Olivia Howard and Jaclyn Degidio led the comeback. The draw moved UC Santa Barbara's record to 2-3-6 overall and 0-1-1 in Big West action.

"The first goal we gave up was incredibly unfortunate, but I am very proud of the group," said Head Coach Paul Stumpf. "We showed real grit and character in the match. We had two freshmen hit two great strikes to come from behind and earn the point!"

UC Irvine broke the 0-0 tie when Emilie Castagna scored in the 34th minute. A cross to the near post was grabbed by Taylor Little, but on her way down lost the ball back into play and Castagna was in the right place and the right time to put the Anteaters up 1-0.

Less than three minutes later UC Irvine added another score on a goal from Erin Covey. A centering feed found the foot of Covey who popped the ball over the Gaucho keeper and extended the 'Eater lead to 2-0.

UC Santa Barbara got on the scoreboard to cut the lead in half in the 64th minutes. Lauren Helwig forced a turnover in the midfield and raced up the field to create a three on two advantage. Helwig dished the ball to Olivia Howard and Howard ripped a shot from the top of the box and netted UC Santa Barbara's first goal of the match. The Gauchos quickly hurried the ball back into play and continued to apply heavy pressure and swing the momentum in their favor.

The Gauchos fired back to knot things up at 2-2 with an 84th-minute goal from Jaclyn Degidio, her first goal of the season. Samantha Christie assisted the goal. The 2-2 score held to the finish.

UC Santa Barbara will be back in action on Sunday, Sept. 24 as they travel to Long Beach State. The Gauchos and Beach will kick off at noon. For those unable to make the trip the game can be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available through longbeachstate.com.