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UCSB Runs The Field with NCAA Division I Teams at Davis Play-Day

Oct. 25, 2009

Davis, CA - UCSB women's lacrosse participated in the Davis Play-Day at UC Davis with scrimmages against the best teams in the west in a series of 30 minute scrimmages. The Gauchos put two teams into the event. The UCSB white team played a mostly NCAA Division I schedule while the blue team played a mix of WWLL Division I & II teams. Playing up would be the phrase that best describes the ambitious schedule. UCSB was coming off a 5-5 tie with NCAA Division I St. Mary's on Saturday in Moraga. That result showed the Gauchos can play with scholarship programs but Sunday showed that doing it back to back and back to back again is a tough task.

UCSB white started out well in their conetst with fully funded Fresno State matching plays and keeping it up-tempo in an early morning contest. The Bulldogs surged at about the 20 minute mark in the 30 minute scrimmage and eventually won 6-2. With a 10 minute rest UCSB white took on five-time MPSF defending champion Stanford University. The Cardinal finished the 2009 season 14-4 with a national schedule and ranked 13th in the country. They were also fresh going into their first scrimmage of the day. It was too much for UCSB and Stanford raced to a 14-0 final score.

"We were not ready for their speed and their movement without the ball," said UCSB Head Coach Paul Ramsey after the day was over. "Their cutting in transition and settled play anytime we took our eye off them is where we'd like to be with our offense."

Stanford was not originally on the play-day schedule for UCSB. CAL was scheduled to play the Cardinal but a Berkeley player going through a seizure the night before, and a subsequent rush to the hospital where she was still being treated at the time CAL would have needed to leave to get to Davis, resulted in the Gauchos filling in for UC Berkeley.

"One would normally like a little rest before facing a squad like that but we filled a spot in the schedule for a team under duress and it was the right thing to do," said Ramsey.

Coming up for UCSB white, though, was their already scheduled back to back frame with St. Mary's followed by a Santa Clara scrimmage with, again, only a ten minute rest. UCSB did rest for 30 minutes after playing Stanford before facing the Gaels in the rematch. St. Mary's exacted a bit of revenge with a 6-2 decision in their second scrimmage of the day with a 90 minute rest while UCSB was on their third scrimmage of the day. Ten minutes after that was over, and with a hike across the street and over to the other end of Russell Field, UCSB faced off against Santa Clara. The Broncos are a team that is normally within UCSB's range with the Gauchos normally getting the upper hand. A tired troup of Gauchos did the best they could but could not keep up with the Broncos, a team only on their second scrimmage of the day, and fell 7-3. 

"All of these scores are different if we're fresh or our fitness level is where it would need to be to take on these teams," said Ramsey.  "Our speed would show better in those situations if we're fresh or fit."

UCSB had seven practices over the course of the three weeks leading up to the weekend to prepare for their juggernaut weekend schedule.

Meanwhile, the UCSB blue team had a rough start against the UC Berkeley club team in the first game of the day and lost that one 9-1 but rebounded nicely with an 8-2 win over Nevada, Reno. Then UCSB blue narrowly missed out on clipping Chico State before losing 3-2. The Wildcats are in the first division of the WWLL and UCSB blue used all their beginners in the play-day.

"Overall this was a good weekend for us," concluded Ramsey,"even if the final scores don't show it."

"Just about every match was over our heads but we learned about ourelves during the adversity."

The Gauchos now enter a week off from practices and games. They resume Fall Ball with practice on Monday, November 2nd. They next play at home versus Cal Poly SLO on Saturday, November 7th, as part of UCSB Family Weekend.