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Mustangs Run Over UCSB In Lopsided Game

Box Score

Apr. 3, 2010

San Luis Obispo, CA - UCSB resumed play after 21 days without a game due to final exams and spring break with a road match at 4th ranked Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. It was all Mustangs as they beat the 3rd ranked Gauchos 21-9 in a WWLL Central Division game on the Sports Complex turf. Cal Poly took an early 1-0 lead 30 seconds into the game but 3rd ranked UCSB tied it 1-1 when sophomore Meg Cruse (San Diego, CA) assisted freshman Katie Mitchell (Lafayette, CA) at 6:39. Between those two goals UCSB sophomore goalie Jeni Centner (Tustin, CA) turned away 4 straight Cal Poly shots with point blank saves in 5 minutes of play but the Gauchos either turned it over or had it taken away after each save, giving the Mustangs life each time.

Eventually Mustang sophomore Amanda Nespor (Pleasanton, CA) found net at 7:15 to start a run of  6 unanswered unanswered goals and Cal Poly had a 7-1 lead. During that early stretch Cal Poly outshot UCSB 16-4. The Gauchos did not get their 2nd goal of the game until 16:12 when senior Maggie Aker (Oakland, CA) scored on a free position shot. That made it 7-2 but then Cal Poly scored another six straight goals to take a 13-2 lead with just under 4 minutes remaining in the first half.

The Mustangs outshot UCSB 36-21 overall and their frenetic start along with a command of just about every loose ball put the Gauchos in a hole too deep for them to be able to climb out. After getting down 16-4 on shots it was 20-17 on shots the rest of the way but UCSB would have needed to shoot 100% to make a game of it at that point.

"For them to outshoot us like that means they had the ball a whole lot more than we did and when we did get it we gave it away far too many times," said head coach Paul Ramsey. "There's no way to be in a game without having the ball more."

The second half score was only 8-6 in favor of the Mustangs but that's no consolation for the Gauchos, who are aiming for a three-peat at the WWLL Championships April 17-18 and a run at the WDIA National Championship May 5-8. UCSB has won the WWLL Championship Tournament two years in a row, in 2008 and 2009.

"We need to play two complete halves every game here on out if we want to do well in the post-season," added Ramsey. "We can't come out flat again."

UCSB has one more regular season game left when they host unranked Pepperdine on Saturday, April 10th, at 11am at UCSB Harder Stadium.  The Gauchos dropped to 10-2 overall and 2-1 in WWLL Central Division play. Cal Poly SLO improved to 10-2, 3-0 and hosts 6th ranked UCLA on April 10th.

The loss and a UC Davis 17-16 overtime upset of top ranked Santa Clara today makes murky the seeding picture for the WWLL Championship Tournament. UCSB was looking at the 3rd seed with the loss to Cal Poly SLO but with the 5th ranked Aggies win there's a multiple team tie among the top teams in the WWLL. The Gauchos might be seeded as low as 4th, pending the UCLA at Cal Poly SLO result.

"It doesn't matter," was almost all Ramsey would say. "We have to beat everyone who lines up against us to win the championship anyway."