It was a good day to be a UC Santa Barbara Women’s Water Polo player named Zoe on Sunday, as Zoe Gabriel and Zoe Ann Watson accounted for more than half of the Gauchos’ goals against No. 8 Long Beach State.
Santa Barbara’s two goalies each had moments of brilliance as well, with Lydia Soderberg saving a first-half penalty shot and Keira Wall standing on her head multiple times en route to six second-half stops. Still, it was not enough to pull the upset, with the Beach emerging 20-5 winners.
It was not a fast start for the Gauchos, with Long Beach tallying the first six goals of the game, but Gabriel put the first tally mark on the board for Santa Barbara before the first quarter ended, capitalizing on a six-on-five opportunity.
Seven more Beach goals across the first and second quarters put the visitors ahead by 12 at halftime, though it would have been one more if not for Soderberg’s penalty save. After being whistled for the foul, Soderberg provided the best mea culpa possible by denying Long Beach on the resultant shot.
Wall took over in goal to start the second half and for the second game in a row, Santa Barbara played its best water polo in the third quarter. Wall helped immensely, making a couple of crucial close-range stops to hold the Beach to three goals in the frame, while Cami Mras and Gabriel both dented the twine with powerplay goals.
Wall’s strong play continued into the fourth, holding the Beach to four goals while the Gauchos again tallied a pair. Molly Souza put home the first of those scores, then Watson made it three goals for Zoes with a goal in the final minute.
Santa Barbara embarks on its final road trip of the season next, starting with a trip to Northridge to take on CSUN on March 13 at 12 noon. The Gauchos return home on April 4 at noon for their Senior Day match, hosting UC San Diego.