UCSB Nipped By Santa Clara 14-13 in Double Overtime
Except for the heroics of UCSB senior goalie Megan Hughes (Santa Ana, CA) Santa Clara might have won it in the regulation overtime. Hughes had 3 saves on the 4 shots against her in crunch time. The Broncos peppered her on three straight shots in one possession but were denied by an elbow save of an off-hip shot, a stick save and then a hug the pipe body save by Hughes. The fourth of the four shots (Burke's free position goal at 6 seconds) was the only one to get by her in the first overtime. Ultimately Santa Clara got the golden goal 18 seconds into the second overtime. Burke scored unassisted on a solo fastbreak after advancing the ball downfield herself after getting her own overtime draw control. First seed Santa Clara was in the third place game after being upset by 4th seeded University of Southern California in a 12-11 semifinal loss on Saturday. The third seeded Gauchos were in the game after dropping a 14-8 semifinal at the hands of 2nd seeded Cal Poly SLO. The Mustangs won the WWLL Division One Championship today with a 20-7 pasting of USC in the final. Both UCSB and Santa Clara now await word on an at-large selection to the U.S. Lacrosse WCLA National Championship Tournament. Eight conferences receive automatic qualifier spots and there are eight at-large spots to award. The Gauchos are 13-7 overall and hold head to head quality wins over Brigham Young and USC to hang their hat on with the committee. The Trojans have the advancement to the WWLL Championship game in their favor but the Gauchos are rated 8th nationally for Strength of Schedule while the Trojans are 32nd. The UCSB 'B' Team story about their 15-14 WWLL B Division Championship game victory over Cal Poly SLO 'B' will be posted separately.
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Santa Barbara, CA - UCSB and top seeded Santa Clara University battled it out in the WWLL Championship Tournament third place game and it took two extra periods to settle it. Copyright 2024 - UCSB Womens Lacrosse | Website by LaxTeams.net