SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Soccer team returns to action after 10 days off from competition. The Gauchos will now set their sights on conference play as they host Long Beach State on Wednesday, September 23, and new Big West foe Sacramento State on Saturday, September 26.
PROMOTIONS
September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month, and during Wednesday's match the Gauchos will be wearing gold accessories to show their support and help bring awareness to it. The Gauchos will be doing this in partnership with the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation and at halftime, Executive Director Brittany Wazny will be interviewed on the ESPN+ stream. Additionally, the Gauchos will be giving out gold awareness bands to support the cause as well.
Saturday night's game is Santa Barbara Soccer Club night and the Gauchos invite all Santa Barbara Soccer Club players to come watch the Gauchos take on Sacramento State.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos' last match was 10 days ago, when they defeated Weber State 2-1, and prior to that, they defeated Idaho State 3-1.
Devin Greer netted her first goal in 672 days with her first half strike against Weber State.
Delilah Vega-Aguilar netted the game-winner in the second half, scoring her fourth goal in the last five games. In the Idaho State win, the Gauchos came back down one goal to score three unassisted and win the contest.
Coming into the week, the Blue and Gold are riding a five-match unbeaten streak. Additionally, they have not lost at Harder Stadium since September 21, 2025.
SCOUTING THE BEACH
Long Beach State comes into the match sporting a 6-1-2 record and currently sitting just above the Gauchos in The Big West standings. The Beach are 3-1-1 in their last five matches with their lone loss coming against Utah.
Cherrie Cox is the head of the snake for the Beach. The senior has scored 10 of the Beach's 18 goals and leads the conference with that number. She has also dished out one assist to total 21 points so far this season. Ameera White leads The Big West in assists with seven while ranking second on Long Beach's roster with nine points. In total, LBSU has seven different goal scorers and three with multiple goals this season.
Defensively, Aurora Schuck holds down the net, mostly. She has started seven matches for the Beach, recording 28 saves while posting a 4-1-2 record. She has earned four clean sheets in those seven games with an 80 percent save percentage. The other two games have been started and played by Amaya Sanles. She has recorded six saves with a 2-0-0 record and both games have been shutouts. In total, the Beach defense has recorded six shutouts through nine games.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Sacramento State comes into this week posting a 4-2-2 record through non-conference play. Before coming to Santa Barbara, the Hornets will host UC Irvine on Wednesday. The Hornets are 2-2-1 in their last five matches, picking up wins over Nevada and Southern Utah.
Offensively, Candace Ching leads the Hornets offense with five goals and 11 points through the team's first eight matches. Ching ranks second in The Big West in goals scored, sitting behind Cherrie Cox from Long Beach State. Eight goal scorers have scored 14 goals this season so far for Sac State, with three of them recording multiple goals this season.
In net, the Hornets have used three goalkeepers. The majority of minutes have been played by Alexa Malaspina. The sophomore has recorded 20 saves while posting a 1-1-1 record in her three starts. The keeper who has seen the second most time in net is Delaney Timmons, who has started four games. She has allowed three goals, recorded 10 saves, and posts a 3-0-1 record with one clean sheet.
FOLLOW ALONG
UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State will kick off at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 23, at Harder Stadium. Following that contest the Gauchos and Hornets will kick off at 6 p.m. on Saturday, September 26. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ with live statistics available at ucsbgauchos.com/WSOCLiveStats.
