Courtesy of Big West Sports Instagram
As the ball rippled the back of the net at Matador Soccer Field in Northridge on November 6, the UC Santa Barbara’s women’s soccer team quickly celebrated before turning to their own dominant goalkeeper. Just one more stop by junior goalkeeper Maddie Buckley, and the squad would be in the Big West Championship game for the second year in a row. As California State University, Northridge senior forward Cassidy Imperial-Pham stepped up to the penalty spot, a collective breath was taken by the Gauchos; jubilation quickly followed. Buckley used all of her intuition and size, making a magnificent diving save to her right, sending her teammates into a frenzy. It was the climactic ending to a long, hard-fought game in front of 506 passionate fans, and it was the win the Gauchos deserved from the onset of the match.
After last year’s 5-0 loss to Stanford in the first round of the NCAA championship, it was crucial that the team’s defense showed up to play against CSUN from the first whistle. While the defense bent at times, allowing 21 shots from Northridge across the game, they didn’t break. The quality of the shots tells a better story — only 6 shots on target out of 21 total for Northridge compared to Santa Barbara’s 4 shots on target of 9 total.
Senior midfielder Emma Corcoran netted her second goal of the season off of sophomore defender Mya Delaney’s assist at the 15th minute to give the Gauchos an early lead, and they almost held it until the final seconds ticked off the clock. Buckley was sensational all night, making five saves behind her defensive line. However, chaos struck at the 88th minute of regular time, with the Matadors earning a penalty, which CSUN junior midfielder Paige Califf buried to hand her team the lifeline they needed.
The extra time periods passed quickly with each team registering a few shots, and the game advanced to the decisive penalty shootout. The teams traded makes and misses on goal, and it was 2-2 going into the fifth round for players to take the spot kick. After sophomore midfielder Ava Dermott’s composed score and Buckley’s heroics, the Gauchos secured their advancement to the championship against arch-rivals California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo on Sunday, Nov 9.
Final against Cal Poly
As the team took the pitch again at CSUN’s Matador Soccer Field, they knew what it would take to defeat their opponents in a championship game edition of the storied Blue-Green Rivalry. Santa Barbara earned a 13-5-5 record overall, and 5-2-3 in the Big West Conference. Cal Poly was slightly worse off as a whole, going 10-2-9, but put up a superior 6-2-2 record in conference play. The teams had matched off just once prior to the championship game this year, with the Gauchos triumphing 3-1 at Harder Stadium.
The game was played in broiling conditions, affecting the energy of the players on the pitch. UCSB and Cal Poly traded close shots early, with the Gauchos hitting the woodwork, while the Mustangs fired a shot on target for an easy save by Buckley. A mandatory timeout was taken midway through the first half to combat the heat and ease the fatigue for both sides, but the half ended quietly without any threats of goals for either side.
The Gauchos gained a free kick in a dangerous area at the 65th minute thanks to a yellow card given to Mustang senior defender Brennan Cole, but Mustang freshman goalkeeper Shannon Porubski made a soaring save to tip the ball over the bar. As the game progressed, tensions were running high for both sides; UCSB Head Coach Paul Stumpf received a yellow card of his own at the 69th minute.
With just two minutes to go in regulation, and stoppage time not existing at the collegiate level, the game looked set for extra time and potentially a second consecutive penalty shootout for the Gauchos. However, disaster struck when Cal Poly senior attacker Jessie Halladay bagged her ninth goal of the season, giving the Mustangs a 1-0 lead with barely any gametime remaining. No clutch comeback goal would materialize for the Gauchos, and Cal Poly took the Big West crown from the Gauchos, who fell short of a repeat as back-to-back champs. The loss also ruled them out for the NCAA tournament, ending what was an exciting but ultimately trophyless season.
