Nov. 13, 2004

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Seventh-ranked UCSB dropped its fifth straight match after being upset by No. 11 Pepperdine 6-5 on Saturday at Campus Pool.

Wave freshman Matt Digges and Gaucho senior Brian Alexander led all scorers with two goals apiece. In conjunction with Alexander, Ross Sinclair, Chris Gronow, and Coulson Lantz each added a goal for the Gauchos.

The Gauchos came out strong in the first quarter, scoring the first two goals of the match and taking an early 2-0 lead. Sinclair started the scoring by netting a goal 1:30 into the match. Alexander beat the Wave keeper two minutes after Sinclair's goal, but with thirty seconds left to play in the quarter, Pepperdine's Adam Hewko scored to cut the lead to 2-1. The second quarter was owned by Pepperdine, scoring three unanswered goals, including the first of Digges' two goals, to steal a 4-2 halftime lead. After Pepperdine managed to take the lead, they never trailed in the match.

UCSB once again scored first in the second half, this time Gronow found the back of the net thirty-eight seconds into the third quarter to cut the Wave lead to one goal. Following the Gaucho goal, Pepperdine quickly answered by scoring the next two goals of the quarter. The second of the two came on a Wave power play with :59 left in the third. UCSB would net the last goal of the third after excellent ball movement that resulted in a quick shot and goal by the freshman, Lantz. Trailing 6-4 heading into the fourth quarter, the Gauchos came out hungry but fell just short of the mark. Alexander managed to cut the lead to 6-5 by netting a shot with four minutes left to play in the game, but the Gauchos were unable to score another. UCSB did have a few shots at the equalizer down the stretch, including a shot by Alexander with forty-five seconds left to play that ricochet off the post and past the goalkeeper but failed to cross over the goal line.

Junior goalkeeper Jon Bonafede recorded 13 saves in goal for the Gauchos.

With the loss, the Gauchos fall to 17-11 on the year, 2-6 in MPSF play. Pepperdine improves to 13-12 overall, 3-5 in the MPSF with the win. The Gauchos return to action on Saturday when they host No. 5 UC Irvine at 2:00 pm in Campus Pool's waters.

Team 1 2 3 4 Total UC Santa Barbara 2 0 2 1 5 Pepperdine 1 3 2 0 6 Scoring UCSB Goals: Brian Alexander-2, Ross Sinclair-1, Chris Gronow-1, Coulson Lantz-1 Pepperdine Goals: Matt Digges-2, Adam Hewko-1, Grant Miller-1, Josh Acosta-1, Matthew MacDonell-1 Goalie Saves UCSB: Jon Bonafede-13 Pepperdine: Robbie Miller-11