AMES, Iowa (Sept. 3, 2023) - Lauren Helwig netted two penalty-kick goals in the second half to help the UC Santa Barbara Women's Soccer team (1-2-3) earn a draw against Power Five opponent Iowa State.
"It was nice to see our team keep competing considering the score, the heat, and being on the road for so long," said Stumpf. "Both penalty kicks were earned and we are glad to be home for six of the next eight matches."
A tightly contested first half saw a lot of back and forth from both sides. A couple of chances by both teams could not find the decisive touch needed to take the lead early. In the 36th minute of the match, the Cyclones would be the ones to break onto the scoreboard first. The Cyclones gained all the momentum and carried that into halftime as they dominated the last 10 minutes of play.
As the teams came back onto the pitch following halftime Iowa State continued to generate chances and struck again in the 47th minute. With a two-goal lead, the Cyclones let their guard down a bit and UC Santa Barbara took full advantage.
After the second Cyclone goal, the Gauchos were able to sustain offensive pressure in the attacking third of the field. In the 52nd minute, UC Santa Barbara was awarded a penalty kick after an Iowa State defender committed a foul inside the box. Lauren Helwig shot across her body into the low-left side of the net to cut the ISU lead to one.
The Gauchos continued to apply pressure and in the 74th minute were awarded their second penalty kick of the game. A handball was whistled in the box and the Gauchos looked to net the equalizer. Helwig again stepped up and again found the back of the net to tie the game at two aside.
After the Gauchos tied the match both teams played more aggressively with three players receiving a yellow card. The aggression did not help either side as neither the Cyclones nor Gauchos could find the back of the net and the match ended in a 2-2 draw.
UC Santa Barbara returns home on Thursday, Sept. 7 as they host San Francisco at Harder Stadium at 7 p.m. Like all Gaucho Women's Soccer home matches the game will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.
