OGDEN, Utah – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Soccer team wrapped up non-conference play with a 2-1 win over Weber State on Sunday afternoon. The Wildcats played a woman down for nearly 80 minutes after receiving a red card in the 11
th minute. A late game-winner by
Delilah Vega-Aguilar moved the Gauchos' unbeaten streak to five matches.
FROM HEAD COACH PAUL STUMPF
"With this being our fifth day at elevation, that made it tough to just get going," said Stumpf. "Once we did, we played well. We got lots of players' experience versus an athletic opponent. This non-conference portion of the schedule has been filled with lots of growth. We still have some areas to work on, but far less than when we started. I am super happy for Devin to finally get a goal and hopeful that it relieved some pressure."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Weber State peppered the goal with shots early on in the game, making
Kate Willmering work in net. In the first seven minutes of action, the Wildcats had multiple scoring opportunities, but Willmering would deny each chance. Just four minutes later, Weber State picked up a red card and would play a woman down the rest of the match.
The momentum completely flipped, and the Gauchos started making the Wildcat defense and goalkeeper work.
Caitlyn Simons,
Delilah Vega-Aguilar and
Olivia Howard fired shots, but were unable to break the deadlock. After a few substitutions, the Gauchos continued to keep up the offensive pressure and, in the 37
th minute, broke through. After missing almost all of last year due to an injury,
Devin Greer scored her first goal in 672 days to put the Gauchos up 1-0.
In the second half, Weber State leveled the game after a penalty kick goal in the 48
th minute. The Gauchos did not waver and took the lead back in the 73
rd minute. A cross from
Avery Standish found Vega-Aguilar, who scored what would end up being the game-winner. It was Vega-Aguilar's fourth goal in the past five games.
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will take next week off from competition and prepare for Big West action. UC Santa Barbara will host Long Beach State on Wednesday, September 23, to open conference play. The Gauchos and Beach will kick off at 7 p.m. at Harder Stadium. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats through ucsbgauchos.com/WSOCLiveStats.
