Balanced Scoring Lifts UCSB Over Toreros
Nine UCSB players contributed to the offense with at least a goal or an assist. Lone senior Molly Meek (Los Angeles, CA) had a career game in her final collegiate contest. Meek had 4 goals and 2 assists. Her two assists came back to back as she drew the double team and dished first to sophomore Melissa Hsu (Danville, CA) on an early offense play with a few minutes remaining in the first half. A UCSB draw control and a pass and Meek had the ball again. The attacker found freshman Alexis Cheney (Winnetka, CA) open in front of the goal and UCSB had a 8-3 halftime advantage. Just prior to the two Meek to teammate goals Hsu had scored on a free position shot at 1:58 remaining in the half. UCSB scored three goals in one minute and 27 seconds and it boosted the Gauchos from a 5-3 lead to an 8-3 lead just before halftime. UCSB scored five more unanswered goals in the first eleven minutes of the second half to make it an 8 goal run over 13 minutes of play. Tying a school record for assists in a single game was Madison Sabbag (Mt. View, CA). The junior had 7 assists and the Gauchos enjoyed their best feeding and cutting game of the season. Freshman goalies Kaitlyn Pike (Seaholm, MI) and Cyrena Malkowski (Lake Forest, CA) played 30 minutes each and had 5 saves each. The season is over for UCSB and the young Gauchos finished with a 10-9 record. Meek is the only player done with her eligibility so the future looks bright for the UCSB team. Six freshman, seven sophomores and five juniors could all return and be the foundation for a return to perennial national contender.
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La Jolla, CA - The Gauchos outscored University of San Diego 18-8 in the final game of the season for both teams. A suffocating defense and eleven of sixteen goals from the field being assisted plus two 8 meter free position shots did it for UCSB. The points total on 18 goals and 11 assists was the highest of the season for the Gauchos. Previously UCSB had scored seventeen goals in a 17-5 win over Oregon State on February 12th. Almost immediately, over their next few games, the injury bug caught UCSB. Numerous players playing hurt slowed the Gauchos down considerably most of the season. Rallying to finish the season strong, UCSB led by as many as 12 goals over the Toreros before San Diego put a couple in at the end for the 10 goal Gaucho win in their 31 point melee. It was markedly different than the 15-14 close game between the two teams on February 20th. That game the Gauchos had 3 assisted goals in a come from behind win at San Diego. Copyright 2025 - UCSB Womens Lacrosse | Website by LaxTeams.net