Reigning Big West champion UCSB got off to a smooth start to its 2017 campaign, defeating Cal Baptist 13-8 and Indiana 8-4 in the opening day of the 2017 Winter Invitational.
Freshman utility Sarah Snyder led the way with a team-high five goals on the day, while Taylor Shore and Kate Pipkin had four apiece.
Rounding out the Gauchos’ scorers were senior Jenna Solberg, sophomore Sarah Kreiser and freshman Kate Coski with two goals each, and freshmen Abbey Grosse and Natalie Selin with one goal apiece. Coski is from San Marcos High.
After leading 4-3 at halftime, UCSB took its offense to the next level, outscoring Cal Baptist 6-2 in the third period.
Facing Indiana later in the day, Coski broke a 2-2 tie and Shore finished an assist from Pipkin to make it 4-2.
The Hoosiers answered with two goals and tied it up at 4-4 heading into halftime.
UCSB’s defense would shine in the second half, as it shut out Indiana for the remainder of the game. Kreiser scored on a power play to make it 5-4 early in the third. Pipkin, who scored 28 goals for Indiana as a freshman in 2016, would score a goal in both the third and the fourth quarter against her old team, giving her four for the day.
Capping things off was Solberg, who scored UCSB’s final goal of the day with 3:27 to go in the fourth.
UCSB will be back in action for day two of the 2017 Winter Invitational when it plays Michigan (12:30 p.m.) and Pomona Pitzer (2:50 p.m.) on Saturday at Campus Pool.