SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Turning in strong first and fourth quarters, No. 6 Stanford (6-2) defeated No. 11 UC Santa Barbara (7-6) 13-10 on Sunday from Santa Barbara High School.
The Cardinal outscored the Gauchos 4-1 in the opening period, but held slim one-goal advantages at halftime and the end of the third quarter. Closing the game strong, Stanford scored the first four goals of the final stanza to eventually complete the victory.
Stanford never trailed on Sunday, but saw UCSB draw even as late as 8-8 in the third quarter. Riley Pittman managed to score Stanford's ninth goal to finish the third quarter with a 9-8 advantage, kickstarting what proved to be a 5-0 run for the Cardinal that would stretch through the first four minutes of the fourth and leave Stanford with a 13-8 advantage.
The Gauchos would score the final two goals of the game, but they proved too little and too late as Stanford held on for its third consecutive win.
Pittman led all players with four goals for the Cardinal, while also adding a pair of assists. CJ Indart, Ethan Parrish and Jackson Painter also managed multi-goal games with two each. Painter finished the contest with four points, assisting on a pair of Stanford goals.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Griffen Price was outstanding again for the Cardinal, managing nine saves and adding two steals while facing 31 UCSB shots.
The Cardinal was 6-for-11 on power plays and scored its 13 goals on 23 shots.
Stanford will return to action on Friday when it opens play at the Overnght MPSF Invitational hosted by USC. The Cardinal is slated to begin tournament play against Pomona-Pitzer at 3 p.m.
Win: Griffen Price, Loss: Levi Lentin
STAN Goals: R.Pittman (4), C.Indart (2), E.Parrish (2), J.Painter (2), G.Watson, S.Jensen, T.Pulice
UCSB Goals: C.Gregory (2), S.Hoover (2), F.Genc (2), M.Chambliss, A.Gyenis, L.Bachler, L.Sutter
STAN Saves: G.Price (9)
UCSB Saves: L.Lentin (8)
