HONOLULU, Hawai'i – The third-seeded UC Santa Barbara Women's Soccer team will head to Hawai'i for the semifinal round, and with a win, the Championship Match of The 2024 Big West Women's Soccer Championships. The Gauchos will take on UC Davis on Thursday, Nov. 7. The match will kick off at 6 p.m. Pacific time.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos defeated sixth-seeded Cal State Fullerton on Sunday, Nov. 3 to advance to the semifinal round of The Big West Championships. After a PK goal put the Titans up 1-0 in the 66^th minute, the Gauchos responded 43 seconds later with a goal by Olivia Howard to level the game at one. Just eight minutes later, 2024 Big West Freshman of the Year, Devin Greer found the back of the net to give the Blue and Gold a lead. Santa Barbara held on down the stretch to win 2-1.
 
SCOUTING THE FIELD
No. 1 Hawai'i
Hawai'i earned the No. 1 seed in the championships after posting an 8-1-1 record in The Big West regular season. The Rainbow Wahine ranked third in conference games in goals scored and held the second-best goal differential with a plus-six margin. Hawai'i defeated UC Santa Barbara 2-1 in their regular season meeting in come-from-behind fashion.
 
Hawai'i is led by 2024 Big West Midfielder of the Year, Nalani Damacion. The freshman has registered seven goals, with all seven being game-winners. She ranks second nationally in game-winning goals. She is not the only player the Gauchos need to keep an eye on as four other players have scored multiple goals this season. Cate Sheahan, Brynn Mitchell and Tatum Porter have all scored four times while Fabiola Zamora has scored three.
 
In goal for the Wahine stands Kennedy Justin who took home 2024 Big West Goalkeeper of the Year honors. The freshman recorded a 0.620 goals-against average, five shutouts and 33 saves in 10 Big West contests.
 
No. 2 UC Davis
UC Davis comes into The Big West Championships unbeaten in their last seven matches, posting a 5-0-2 record in that stretch. The Aggies won their final three matches of the conference regular season, including a 1-0 win against Santa Barbara to earn the No. 2 seed.
 
UC Davis finished the regular season as a top 50 scoring offense as they average just over two goals per match. They also rank top 50 in assists per game (2.00), points per game (6.11) and goal differential (+18). The potent offense is led by Genavieve Fontes and Sam Tristan who have combined for 21 goals and six assists.
 
Caeley Goldstein stands in net for the Aggies and entering the match against the Gauchos with a 1.11 goals-against average, making 92 saves and recording eight shutouts. One of her eight came against the Gauchos just two weeks ago.
 
No. 5 Cal State Bakersfield
Like the Gauchos, Cal State Bakersfield played on Sunday, Nov. 3 and took down reigning Big West Champion UC Irvine. The Roadrunners defeated the Anteaters 1-0 with a goal by Isis Salazar-Ortega in the 44^th minute.
 
Karen Flores and Kim Garcia are the two leading goal scorers for CSU Bakersfield, both have scored four over the course of the season. Paige Rodriguez also poses a threat should the Gauchos meet Bakersfield in The Big West Championship match. Rodriguez has recorded five assists this season ranking second in conference and top 100 nationally.
 
Kamy Anaya and Hollee Hercik have started just about the same number of matches but Anaya has played in nearly 300 more minutes. The duo combines for a 1.48 goals-against average, 0.762 save percentage and five shutouts. Anaya played all 90 minutes in their opening round match making eight saves and pitching a clean sheet as well.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
UC Santa Barbara begins play in Hawai'i on Thursday, Nov. 7 as they take on UC Davis at 6 p.m. For those unable to make the trip the match will be streamed through ESPN+ with live stats also available.
 
Should the Gauchos win and advance to the 2024 Big West Championship Match, they will meet the winner of Hawai'i vs. Cal State Bakersfield on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. Pacific time. That match will also be streamed through ESPN+ with live stats also available.