SANTA BARBARA, Calif.- Wrapped in a thick blanket of fog, UC Santa Barbara Women's Soccer put on a dominant performance over the Beach on Thursday night at Harder Stadium with freshmen taking the lead in the 3-1 win. Devin Greer put up six shots and found the back of the net twice. Ava Jarolimek got the game winning goal in the 79th minute and her second goal of the season.
FROM HEAD COACH PAUL STUMPF
"That was another strong performance," said Stumpf. "We had a great response after going down early on. Getting three points and taking down another conference favorite is always a plus!"
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Santa Barbara offense came ready with two blocked shots in the first eight minutes by O'Callaghan Liu and Jaclyn Degidio. Long Beach State came on the attack drawing a penalty in the 9th minute that led to a goal to put the Beach up 1-0.
Santa Barbara remained unphased as they headed back into Beach territory ready to tie up the match. Just five minutes after the initial goal by Long Beach, O'Callaghan Liu set up a Gaucho goal as she sailed the ball right to the feet of Olivia Howard. With a feed from Howard through the Beach defense, Greer sent the ball to the back of the net past a sliding Aurora Schuck in goal.
Santa Barbara maintained the offensive pressure on Schuck and the Long Beach defense. The Gauchos held the Beach to one shot for the rest of the half as shots by Liu, Howard, and Greer looked to put the Gauchos ahead. The score remained 1-1 headed into the half.
Now engulfed in the cloudy mist, the second half kicked off with both teams looking for the lead. Devin Greer looked ready for her second goal with a shot in the 55th minute, but she was unable to find the back of the net. Both teams fought for possession as the next shot didn't come until the 65th minute from Long Beach giving Maddie Buckley her first save of the match with a jumping grab. As the teams exchanged shots, it proved difficult to break through either defense as they continued to clear balls on both sides.
In the 79th minute, Chayse Yu dribbled the ball past the Beach defense to find an open Ava Jarolimek at the top of the box. Jarolimek sailed the ball into the top right corner to put the Gauchos up 2-1.
Long Beach went on the attack but the Santa Barbara defense continued to clear out the attacks and maintain Gaucho possession. Emma Corcoran took the ball back down in the 83rd minute, setting up a pass to Chayse Yu. Yu looked to Samantha Christie in the middle of the pitch who had the perfect setup to Devin Greer in the box. Greer got her shot up above Schuck's reach and tucked into the top right corner to secure the 3-1 Gaucho win.
FROM FRESHMAN FORWARD DEVIN GREER
"I'm really proud of us and how we've stuck together," said Greer. "Taking it game-by-game, staying hungry each match, I think that's really put us through. It's been a great start to conference [play] and hopefully [we] keep it going on Sunday."
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will host UC Irvine this Sunday, October 6 at 12 p.m. For those unable to attend, the match will be available on ESPN+ with live stats on ucsbgauchos.com.
