SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Defense was once again the name of the game for San Jose State women's soccer as they opened the season with their second straight shutout, this time coming on the road at UC Santa Barbara on Sunday.
"To get a shutout on the road against a solid Big West opponent shows our team's focus and leadership within," head coach Lauren Hanson said. "This was a total team effort today and our staff is proud of the growth we saw from the last game to today. We generated more opportunities in the attack having Karlee Pottorff up top, which was fantastic to see and build off of."
SJSU (0-0-2) battled hard from start to finish in its second 110-minute match of the last four days. As usual, the Spartan defense was solid in the outing and while they allowed 15 total shots, they locked down inside the box and thwarted Gaucho attacks one after the other. Sophomore goalkeeper Ariana Romero, making just her second start of her Spartan career, was rock-solid in the net once again, tallying five saves.
Romero made a pair of saves in the opening half, the first coming at just the 10-minute mark as she made a diving attempt on a one-on-one attack from UCSB's Shaelan Murison. The Gauchos had another great chance taken away in the 45th minute as a free kick into the box was cleared by a header to end the half.
Romero made two more saves in the second period and had one final crucial stop in the first overtime as she stifled Murison for the fourth time of the match.
UCSB (0-0-2) had its best chance of the match in the 86th minute as they worked the ball into just five yards of the net, however Spartan forward Natalia Nava got a foot on the shot attempt and deflected the ball over the net to preserve the tie.
The Spartan offensive had a slow start, putting up just one shot in the first half before finding some rhythm in the second half. SJSU put up five shots in the second half and had another chance in each overtime period. Alison Gallant, who led the team in their first game with two shots on goal, had one of the best looks for the Spartans in the 87th minute, but her attempt was saved by the Gauchos' keeper.
SJSU finished with four shots on goal to the Gauchos' six.
The Spartans return to action on Thursday, August 29, as they travel to Los Angeles for a match against LMU. They will then return to the bay to take on Stanford on Sunday in a match that will be shown on the Pac-12 Network.