The UCSB men’s lacrosse team continued its undefeated record in its first game at home with a 12-4 win over Stanford on Saturday.

The win against Stanford advances UCSB to 1-0 in league and 2-0 overall, as Stanford drops their first game of the season, leaving them 0-0 in league and 0-1 overall.

The first plays of the game led off with a three-goal streak by Stanford, but the score was tied going into the second quarter after three quick goals by UCSB late in the first. Attack player Johnny Morgan led the team with four goals scored.

“I thought our defense after the first three to nothing run buckled down well,” Head Coach Mike Allan said. “Our goalie, Conrad Carlson, had a great game with good saves in the second half, and Johnny Morgan had a great game as well.”

At the start of the second quarter, UCSB capitalized on the shifting momentum at the end of the first, and dominated possession of the ball with long passes and shots, creating open spaces between the Stanford defense.

“This is the first time where we came out, played hard and had no lags except for the beginning,” senior long-stick midfielder, and captain Alex Mainthow said. “We came out and won. We’re going to keep it rolling.”

The UCSB defense allowed Stanford’s last goal of the game in the second quarter and shut them out the remainder of the game. Senior goalie, Carlson’s blocks throughout the game shook the Stanford offense and created vital turnovers, which allowed UCSB to have breakaway one-on-one shot attempts versus the Stanford goalie.

“We played as hard as we could the entire game,” senior midfielder and captain Ryan Walsh said. “They have a really small team, but we had a lot of young guys step up, which was definitely key in winning today.”

Not only is continuing its winning streak keeping the team’s spirits up, but the win over Stanford on Saturday was particularly special for the men, due to their overtime loss to Stanford in the first game of the season last year.

“We were up five at the half last year and this year we were up by four,” Mainthow said. “This time we kept it going and played smart.”

Though trailing the majority of the game, Stanford’s intensity never died, as game physicality never ended with several penalties thrown for hard hits and the occasional layout.

“I thought the game was pretty indicative of how we’ve been practicing. There were a few inconsistencies at times, but I was proud of the way we handled those situations,” Allan said. “If we had a bad turnover, we seemed to come right back, and play better the next possession. We’re still learning, but I like the way the guys are competing.”

The team will continue their home stand next weekend playing Georgia on Friday, and Cal Poly on Sunday.

This article is an online exclusive and did not appear in the print edition of the Daily Nexus.