SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Soccer team topped reigning WAC Champions California Baptist Thursday night to secure its first win of the season.
Hayden Halscheid put the Gauchos on top in the 41
st minute, while
Erin Ellsworth added a second goal in the 63
rd.
FROM HEAD COACH PAUL STUMPF
"It is really hard to win games at this level," said Stumpf. "The girls did way more things right than they did wrong, and you have to appreciate the team's grit."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos got off to a quick start, firing three shots at the CBU keeper early in the game as they kept the Lancers' defense on their heels. Following the first initial attack of the match, both Santa Barbara and California Baptist settled into the game.
For the majority of the first half, UC Santa Barbara maintained possession and got off a few other shots, but were unable to score. With 10 minutes to go in the half the Gauchos made a few subs, one of those being
Hayden Halscheid. Just six minutes after subbing in for
Olivia Howard, Halscheid found herself battling for the ball in the box. After beating out the defender, the junior beat the keeper to the bottom left of the goal to give the Gauchos the lead just before halftime.
Coming out of the half with a 1-0 lead, Head Coach Paul Stump started
Erin Ellsworth for the second half, her first action in the 2025 season. The Gauchos came out firing making the CBU keeper record three consecutive saves.
Emily Caughey took a shot from deep that knocked the keeper back, and yet miraculously kept out of the goal.
The Gauchos kept the momentum up and it finally paid off in the 63
rd minute off a short corner kick.
Caitlyn Simons played it short to
Haley Phillips, who crossed the ball to the far post, where it found the left foot of
Erin Ellsworth, beating the keeper and giving the Gauchos a two-goal lead.
Santa Barbara held off the Lancer response, and
Kate Willmering earned her first clean sheet in her first career start. The sophomore made just one save but was steady in the net while making smart decisions all night.
UP NEXT
Santa Barbara welcomes San Diego to town on Sunday, August 24. The Gauchos and Toreros are set to kick off at 1 p.m. For those unable to attend the match will be streamed through ESPN+ with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com/WSOCLiveStats.