SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – No. 5 Stanford scored two goals in the final four minutes, but the Cardinal's late rally came up just short in a 7-6 setback to No. 7 UC Santa Barbara Saturday at Campus Pool.
In a tightly-contested match throughout, Stanford and UCSB found themselves locked at 4-4 midway through the third quarter. The Gauchos exploded for three goals in the final 3:47 of the third period to surge out to a 7-4 advantage.
The Cardinal responded in the fourth quarter as freshman Bennett Williams found the back of the cage with 3:47 to play in the match. Sophomore Mitchell Mendoza scored with 2:40 to play to pull Stanford within one score. It was second goal for both Mendoza and Williams in the match.
Stanford pushed hard for the equalizer, but came up just short as UCSB escaped with the victory.
Junior Cody Smith also recorded a pair of scores for the Cardinal in the match.
The Cardinal moved to 11-3 on the season, while the Gauchos moved to 13-6 on the year.
Stanford returns to action tomorrow in Malibu with a noon match against No. 8 Pepperdine.