Oct. 30, 2004

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Fourth-ranked UC Santa Barbara fell to No. 9 Long Beach State 12-11 after junior Brett McCleave netted the game-winning goal in sudden death overtime on Saturday at Campus Pool.

Ramiro Saldain led the Gauchos with three goals, but it was McCleave and his three goals that made the difference in the match. Both teams scored heavily in the first half, netting a combined 14 goals. In the remaining five periods of play (two quarters, two overtime periods, and one sudden death period), both teams combined for nine goals.

Long Beach State jumped out to take the lead after two and a half minutes of play when Jay Gerardi netted his only goal of the match. Saldain answered back with the first of his three goals with two minutes left to play in the quarter. After the Gauchos and 49ers traded goals once more, Long Beach closed the first quarter with two more scores to run the score to 4-2.

The Gauchos came out strong in the second quarter, posting three goals within the first three minutes of play, including back-to-back goals by senior Brian Alexander, to take the 5-4 lead. Long Beach was quick to answer and scored two goals of its own to take a one-goal advantage. After freshmen Robbie Bauer and Long Beach sophomore Eric Markle exchanged goals, Saldain netted a buzzer-beating shot with one second left in the half to even the score at seven.

Within thirty seconds of second-half play, McCleave struck again to regain the 49er's one goal advantage. On Santa Barbara's next possession, sophomore two-meter man Matt Dale found the back of the net for the first of his two goals on the match. Chris Gronow added to the Gaucho lead when he scored with 3:11 left in the third quarter to make the score 10-8. Long Beach's Markle ended the third period's scoring when he cut the lead to one goal with 48 seconds left on the clock.

Long Beach State was the only team able to find the back of the net in the fourth quarter, netting one goal with three minutes left to play. With the score knotted at 10 after regulation, the teams entered three-minute overtime periods. The first overtime period resulted in no goals, leaving the score tied and sending the game into its second overtime period. Long Beach managed to score the first goal of the period when Satoshi Sakata put a shot past Gaucho goalkeeper Jon Bonafede with 1:15 left. Twenty seconds later, Gronow answered back for the Gauchos by beating the 49er keeper and sent the match into sudden-death overtime.

After a long and hard-fought match, Long Beach State finally managed to break the eleven-goal tie when McCleave scored two minutes into the period.

Both goalkeepers had outstanding matches, recording a combined 38 saves, including a season high 21 for Bonafede.

With the loss, the Gauchos fall to 17-7 overall, 2-2 in MSPF play. UC Santa Barbara returns to action when they host No. 2 Stanford at 2:00 pm on Sunday at Campus Pool.

Team 1 2 3 4 1OT 2OT 3OT Total UC Santa Barbara 2 5 3 0 0 1 0 11 Long Beach State 4 3 2 1 0 1 1 12 Scoring UC Santa Barbara Goals: Ramiro Saldain-3, Brian Alexander-2, Matt Dale-2, Chris Gronow-2, Andrew Schoneberger-1, Robbie Bauer-1 Long Beach State Goals: Brett McCleave-3, Satoshi Sakata-2, Eric Markle-2, Jay Gerardi-1, Blake Bartak-1, Matt Shafer-1, Riley Brady-1, Reid Tomassi-1 Goalie Saves UC Santa Barbara: Jon Bonafede-21 Long Beach State: Thomas Onyshko-17