The 2024 Big West Conference champions, UC Santa Barbara’s women’s soccer team faced off against the 2024 Western Athletic Conference champions California Baptist University on Aug. 22, resulting in a commanding 2-0 victory for the Gauchos. This showdown was the Gauchos’ first win of the 2025 season.

The Gauchos were dominant on both sides of the ball in this game as they maintained possession well and had 13 total shots, eight of them being on target. The Gauchos defense held steady as the CBU Lancers had a total of 5 shots with one of them being on target. This resulted in the shutout and 2-goal win for the Gauchos.

“It is really hard to win games at this level … The girls did way more things right than they did wrong, and you have to appreciate the team’s grit,” UCSB Head Coach Paul Stumpf said.

At the start of the first half, the Gauchos created many shot opportunities but were unable to capitalize. The defense remained steady and the offense was aggressive, but it was not until the 40th minute after a pass from sophomore midfielder Caitlyn Simons that junior forward Hayden Halscheid slipped through the defenders in the box and fired off a well-placed shot into the left side of the goal, finding the back of the net. The Gauchos led 1-0 at the half. 

The Gauchos offense went into the second half motivated, totaling 6 shots on target, forcing the CBU goalkeeper to stay on her feet. In the 62nd minute, senior forward Haley Phillips played a perfect cross into the far post where her teammate, junior midfielder and forward Erin Ellsworth, was well positioned and showcased a one-touch shot with her left foot into the left side of the goal. This ball was out of the CBU goalkeeper’s range and found the back of the net to make the score 2-0 in favor of the Gauchos.

The Gauchos maintained this lead throughout the game, making the final score 2-0 to defeat CBU Lancers. UCSB women’s soccer will face off against University of San Diego on Sunday, Aug. 24 in Harder Stadium.