SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - UC Santa Barbara's offensive pressure throughout the match on Thursday night kept the Omaha defense on their toes, but with an early breakaway goal from the Mavericks, the Gauchos were unable to come back from the 1-0 deficit. 

FROM HEAD COACH PAUL STUMPF 
"We played exceptionally well," said Stumpf. "I am just getting frustrated of having at least 65 percent of the possession, outshooting the team and we concede a goal off a bad pass back to the goalkeeper. When I look back when I am not this emotional, my thought is we will be very happy with the ball movement and what we created. It was another dominant performance that the girls were not rewarded for." 

HOW IT HAPPENED 
The first goal of the match came early in the half with a breakaway from Omaha. Beating out the Santa Barbara defense, the Mavericks were up 1-0 in the 6th minute. 

Santa Barbara quickly turned around the momentum, with a shot by Caitlyn Simons and two blocked shots by O'Callaghan Liu. The Mavericks, after their quick goal, tested Sabrina Hinz with a jumping save in the 13th minute followed by another in the 28th minute. Hinz held the Mavericks to just a one-goal lead.  

Isabella Ong and O'Callaghan Liu continued to vie for the back of the net with two on target shots, but none were able to make it through the Omaha defense. Devin Greer followed their lead with an arcing shot in the 35th minute from outside the box saved by the Mavericks.  

With Jessica Carlton on the corner kick in the 36th minute, the Gauchos saw an opportunity when Carlton's shot landed just to the feet of the goalkeeper. As the ball teetered on the line, commotion on both sides ultimately left the Gauchos just shy of tying the match. The Gauchos maintained offensive pressure through the end of the half, but as the clock counted down, the score remained 1-0 for Omaha.  

Looking to secure their lead, Omaha started off the half with a shot saved by Hinz. Both teams went on the defensive as the next shot didn't come until the 66th minute. Jessica Carlton's shot down the middle was unable to put the Gauchos up as it landed with the Omaha defense.  

The Gauchos maintained possession with a shot by Emily Caughey in the 78th minute saved by Omaha's Maja Baun. Santa Barbara had good looks in the final minutes with a couple of crosses unable to find the feet of fellow Gauchos. Caughey kept the pressure with a final shot in the 89th minute but the Mavericks maintained the 1-0 lead until the final whistle.   

UP NEXT 
The Gauchos will take on the Pacific Tigers on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Harder Stadium. For those unable to attend, the match will stream live on ESPN+ with live stats available on ucsbgauchos.com.