SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara Women's Soccer continued their unbeaten run as a late goal by sophomore Emily Caughey powered the Gauchos past the Anteaters. With the win Santa Barbara stays atop The Big West standings.
FROM HEAD COACH PAUL STUMPF
"Coming in, we knew it was going to be a good match," said Stumpf. "Irvine does not give up a ton of goals and are very competitive. It always comes down to a numbers game, and if you create enough chances for yourself, maybe you get the on that breaks the game open. That was us today."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams came out ready to attack from the first whistle. A shot by Evelyn Arsenault in the fifth minute was saved by the Anteater keeper. UC Irvine then went down and tested Maddie Buckley with a shot in the ninth minute.
UC Irvine narrowly took the lead in the 13th minute after Buckley got a hand on a ball that nearly snuck inside the crossbar. Devin Greer's header in the 34th minute nearly gave the Gauchos a one goal lead, but again the Gauchos were turned away by the 'Eaters keeper.
For the rest of the first half both teams continued to find good looks at the goal but both keepers were up to the test not allowing either side to score. The Irvine keeper made five saves in the first half while Buckley made three herself.
The second half saw a little less action near the goals as the teams battled into the 75th minute. A 78th minute shot by O'Callaghan Liu by missed the target. After a battle for possession on the goal kick, the Gauchos came up with it and found themselves in the attacking third. The Gauchos then switched the field and Emily Caughey took a shot from more than 30 yards out to beat the goalkeeper to the top left of the goal.
UC Santa Barbara clung to the one goal margin and held on to the final whistle. The Gauchos moved to 4-0-1 in conference play and 6-3-5 overall.
FROM SOPHOMORE DEFENDER EMILY CAUGHEY
On the teams performance: "After beating Long Beach on Thursday, we had a lot of momentum coming into this game," said Caughey. "I am so proud of this team, we have put in so much work and we are getting the results we want."
On her game-winning goal: "I saw the goal, it was late in the game and I said why not and just took the shot. It obviously couldn't have turned out better."
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will hit the road for three straight matches. The first of which will be played against Cal State Fullerton next Sunday, Oct. 13. The match will kickoff at 5 p.m. at Titan Stadium in Fullerton, Calif. For those unable to make the trip the match will be streamed through ESPN+ with live stats also available.
