SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The LMU women's soccer team (0-1-0) fell to UC Santa Barbara (1-0-0) 1-0 on Wednesday at Theodore Harder Stadium. Despite outshooting UC Santa Barbara with 12 shots to their 10, the Lions were unable to find the back of the net.
The game kicked off with LMU pressing forward early.
Elise Bolanos attempted a shot that went wide left at 3:53. Bolanos was a force in the midfield, intercepting passes and making driving runs to push the team forward.Â
Despite their efforts to score, UC Santa Barbara capitalized first with a goal from Olivia Howard in the 15th minute giving them a 1-0 lead. The goal was given after initially being ruled to have not crossed the line. After a lengthy review, the referee decided there was enough evidence to overturn the initial call and the Gauchos were awarded the sole goal of the game.Â
LMU kept up the offensive pressure, with Bolanos and
Cameron Bourne both challenging the UCSB goalkeeper. Bourne displayed pace and skill on the left wing, winning one-on-one duels and nearly scoring with a long-distance shot, but their attempts didn't result in a goal. The first half ended with LMU trailing 1-0.
JJ Hoover delivered a standout performance with a fingertip save in the 72nd minute, pushing the ball over the crossbar, and followed with a crucial one-on-one save in the 75th minute, smothering the ball in front of goal.
Despite LMU's persistent pressure, including a late shot by
Malia Suehiro that looked like it could potentially be the equalizer, UC Santa Barbara held strong defensively.Â
Looking ahead, LMU will host Pittsburgh on Thursday, Aug. 20, at Sullivan Field. The non-conference match is set to begin at 2 p.m.Â
Tickets for the Pittsburgh match and all remaining home matches are available on LMULions.com.
