UC Santa Barbara Women’s Soccer will kick off the Gauchos’ fall sports schedule on Thursday when they take on the Loyola Marymount Lions at 7 p.m. at Harder Stadium.
The Gauchos, led by 24-year head coach Paul Stumpf, and the Lions are facing off for the first time since 2019 when UCSB came out on top 4-2.
Lauren Helwig and Meg Burling will be among the impact returning players for the Gauchos this season after they were the team’s leading goal scorers a season ago. They also led the way in points.
On the defensive side, UCSB is returning Shaye Douglas, O’Callaghan Lui and Alyssa O’Brien, a grouping that contributed to five clean sheets in 2022.
There are plenty of new faces on this year’s Gaucho squad, as there are 10 freshmen and two transfers on the roster. The two transfers are Jessica Carlton and Keile Hansen from Boston College and Boise State, respectively.
On the other sideline, the Lions brought back each of their top three goal scorers from last season in Alice Santen, Jennessa Groves and Amanda Perez.
After UCSB ended in sixth place in the Big West last season, they were once again picked to finish sixth in this year’s Big West Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Their quest to finish above that ranking will begin on Thursday.
The Gauchos and Lions’ matchup will be streamed on ESPN+ on Thursday at 7 p.m.
