After losing a pair of overtime matches last weekend, the UCSB women’s soccer team cannot seem to catch a break, losing two 1-0 games to Northridge and Irvine this weekend.

With the pair of losses, UC Santa Barbara falls to 5-9-2 on the season (0-4 Big West) and can finish at best .500 in conference this season after losing its four conference games by a combined four goals.

“The girls are playing their brains out — they’re trying so hard and they are just not getting rewarded for their effort,” Head Coach Paul Stumpf said. “You give up one goal a game and you think you’re going to be in it, but we just cannot freaking find the back of the net.”

Northridge, 4-7-2 (2-1-1 conference), put forth a stellar defensive effort against the Gauchos after losing 2-0 to Cal Poly the match before. Matador senior defender Nicole Cruz’s shot in the 49th minute was the only goal of the game.

“It’s disappointing knowing that our defense played so well and we can’t put something away together as a team,” sophomore goalkeeper Makenna Henry said.

Henry made six saves on seven shots on goal against the Matadors while junior goalkeeper Cynthia Jacobo saved all five shots on goal to shut out the Gauchos for the second consecutive game.

“We’re all trying, it’s just unfortunate that we can’t just put one away,” Henry said. “There is not one person you can point your finger at. It’s just a matter of really focusing, getting up together and putting it away.”

Junior midfielder Katy Roby led Santa Barbara with two of the team’s five shots on goal while totaling four shots in the match. Irvine, last year’s regular season Big West champion, managed to improve to 9-3-2 (2-1-1 Big West) this weekend with a pair of 1-0 victories over UCSB and Cal Poly. Junior forward and midfielder Dana Sanderlin scored in the 19th minute for the Anteaters to secure the team’s third win of their last six games.

Henry saved four of five shots on goal against Irvine in another dominant defensive performance, but the Gaucho offense could never get started. UCSB was limited to two shots on goal on Friday as freshman goalkeeper Jennifer Randazzo recorded her first of two consecutive shutouts for the Anteaters.

“As long as we stay on top of our game defensively and make more of an effort offensively, I think we still got it,” Henry said. “There’s really no other option; our back is up against the wall — we’re either going to step up or we’re going to crumble.”