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UCSB Ranked 2nd in National Poll For 3rd Straight Week

Mar. 10, 2010

Baltimore, MD - UCSB women's lacrosse remained firmly in place at the #2 spot in the WDIA National Top 25 Poll. The Gauchos dropped a close 12-11 game to #1 ranked Santa Clara this past weekend but the voters didn't think a 1 goal loss to the #1 team was a reason for UCSB to drop below the 2nd ranked spot. On the heals of the Gauchos are 3rd ranked Lindenwood. UCSB received 312 points and the Lions received 295. Santa Clara received all 13 possible first place votes and 325 points in the poll.

The Gauchos were 15-14 winners over the Lions on February 12th. Lindenwood has been reeling off lopsided wins over unranked teams the last few weeks but the head to head result between the two teams carried enough weight, even through this voting coming more than a month later. WWLL counterparts Cal Poly SLO, UC Davis and UCLA are ranked 4th, 5th and 7th, respectively, putting five WWLL teams in the Top 10.

"We had a chance at taking down the #1 team when we played Santa Clara and came close to doing it," says UCSB head coach Paul Ramsey.

The Gauchos were down two goals against Santa Clara with 5 minutes left in the game but closed the gap on a goal with one minute left to pull within one at 12-11. The attempt to tie it and get to overtime with last minute heroics fell short.

"Now, though, we know where we need to improve ourselves to have a better shot at getting it done next time," continued Ramsey.

"The result of not being able to steal the game from Santa Clara at the end is we are now focusing more on the fundamentals necessary to play this game at a high level."

UCSB hosts 7th ranked UCLA (6-3 overall) this Friday in a 9pm game at Harder Stadium.  The Bruins dropped from 6th to 7th in the poll despite a 20-5 win over unranked San Diego State.  Colorado moved up from 7th to 6th with a 21-3 win over the unranked club from University of Denver. UCSB was an 8-6 winner over Colorado on February 14th.

The game with UCLA is a double header with the two program B teams playing at 7pm. It is also youth lacrosse night at UCSB this Friday. Prospective youth girl's lacrosse players and their parents have been invited to attend to learn more about the sport as they decide whether to enroll in the new SBYLA youth girl's lacrosse program.