The Santa Barbara Shootout has become the unofficial start of season for many teams within the Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (WCLA) over the years. This year 50 teams from across the country in WCLA Division I and II traveled to Santa Barbara to compete in the annual tradition. UCSD Women’s Lacrosse competed against Stanford University, Humboldt State University, Chico State University and Cal Poly SLO and returned home undefeated in the season. 

                The team took on nationally ranked, no. 20 Stanford University as their first game of the tournament. Nerves were high as the team walked onto the field; UCSD had come home undefeated at the SB Shootout for two years in a row and this game would set the tone for the rest of the weekend. Senior Shae Zeigler set the bar for the momentum as she scored the first goal of the game within the first minute. Zeigler continued on to score a total of five goals for the Tritons throughout the game. Freshmen Gillian Husovsky (1 goal), Ellen Jurgens (2 goals), and Melina Tsotras (1 goal) all put points on the board. An outstanding performance from senior, Asha Bacon, set her as the leading defender with 5 caused turnovers throughout the game and one goal. The Tritons ended the game with a win, finishing the game at 14-5. 

                Coming off the high from the morning W, UCSD prepared to take on Humboldt State Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Zoe Kelly took charge of the midfield and helped UCSD come up with 100% of the draw controls. Amaia Owens made her debut as an offensive player vs. Humboldt and scored three goals. At the end of the game, UCSD boasted a total of 24 goals divided among 14 players! 

                Sunday morning the Tritons prepared to play two of their biggest competitors in the league, Chico State and Cal Poly SLO. The team knew that the energy they brought on the field would guide their play in each game. Captains Nicole Goodwin (3 goals) and Shae Zeigler (4 goals) worked with senior Jiyoung Yun (3 goals) to dominate the attacking end and take charge of the game. Defenseman Kellen Peddicord put on an outstanding performance with five caused turnovers and four ground balls to help keep the Tritons in possession. With a great performance from goalie Josie Ballard (54% save rate) and additional points from Ellen Jurgens (2 goals), Sadie King (1 goal), and Gillian Husovsky (2 goals) the Tritons came out on top vs the Wildcats 15-5.

                The final game for the weekend approached and UCSD Women’s Lacrosse prepared to take on Cal Poly SLO who was also undefeated in the league. At the first whistle, the team knew the game would be a physical game and the women would have to turn up their energy to win the game. The first half ended 2-4 with Cal Poly in the lead and the coaches knew something had to change. After some advice from the coaches to keep pushing and some encouraging words from some teammates, the Tritons started the second half ready to bring the fire. Freshman, Kika Funk, helped turn the tides scoring three goals in the second half. Captain, Nicole Goodwin, also finished the game with another hat-trick! Cinthya Perez put her stick skills to work and tied the game at 7-7 with a strong crease roll and scored the final point of the game with three minutes left. The tritons had to push their hardest to avoid a tie in the second half that could lead to overtime. As cal poly took possession in the last two minutes, two yellow cards on Tritons turned the game to a 5 vs 6 game. The defense held their ground and after a missed pass from Poly, Kellen Peddicord game up with the ground ball in the last 15 seconds and kept the ball in Tritons possession when the final horn went off! 

                Though it was only the second weekend into season, the Tritons finished half of their league games and maintained their undefeated reputation for the third year in a row!