Junior goalkeeper Sabrina Hinz put up a clean sheet in UC Santa Barbara Women’s Soccer’s 2-0 season-opening win over Loyola Marymount on Thursday at Harder Stadium.
The Gauchos (1-0) got a goal in each half while keeping the Lions’ (0-1) offensive attack in check.
“The girls did a very good job overall. They executed the game plan we set in place,” head coach Paul Stumpf said to UCSB Athletics. “We were able to mix up our attack and also defended very well.”
UCSB started fast, securing a pair of corner kicks in the first 15 minutes but they couldn’t find the back of the net with those opportunities.
After a relatively slow half that saw six total shots, the Gauchos made a final push before heading to the locker room and it paid off, as freshman forward Olivia Howard scored the first UCSB goal of the season in the 44th minute to take a lead into the half.
The momentum from the end of the first half carried over to the beginning of the second as the Gauchos struck fast, with junior defender Anna Pitt and Howard assisting senior forward Leila Emmerson’s first score of the year for a 2-0 advantage in the 49th minute.
“Olivia’s impact was clear,” Stumpf said. “She made some really smart and well-timed runs behind the defense. One resulted in a goal and the other led to an assist.”
The UCSB defense buckled down for the remaining 41 minutes, holding the Lions to three shots with Hinz picking up a pair of saves in the 83rd and 87th minutes to clinch the win.
Hinz ended with three saves en route to the victory.
UCSB will be back on the pitch when they travel to San Jose State and take on the Spartans (0-1) on Thursday at noon at Spartan Soccer Complex.
