SSU Suffers First Defeat of the Season to UCSB, 5-11

The Seawolves lost 5-11 to WCLL foe UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, February 15th at Rancho Cotate High School. Sonoma State is now 3-1 on the season, and 1-1 in WCLL Division-1 play. 

The game featured several noteworthy performances for Sonoma, led defensively by Sophomore goalkeeper Miles Dillingham (17 saves, 11 goals allowed), Sophomore close defender Liam Crow (5 ground balls), and Junior LSM Dustin Smith (1 goal, 2 ground balls, and 2 caused turnovers). On offense, Sonoma was led by Junior Captain Benen Powers (2 goals, 1 assist) and fellow attackman Nick Frangione (1 goal, 1 assist). 

In the first quarter, it was UCSB who struck first to give the Gauchos a 1-0 lead. Midway through the first, it was long pole Dustin Smith who got the scoring started for SSU with a nice bounce shot in transition from beyond 15 yards, assisted by Powers. The Gauchos would ultimately control the first quarter, holding a 4 to 2 advantage after the first. 

The second quarter was penalty ridden by both teams, and featured multiple 3 minute non releasable stick infractions that made for a chaotic end to the first half. UC Santa Barbara continued to take advantage of missed opportunities by the Seawolves to add to their lead, and finish the first half up 7-2. 

The third quarter would prove to be a back and forth defensive battle, with each team having a hard time finding the back of the net. Miles Dillingham, who started at goalie for injured Riley Corcoran, got particularly hot in the third quarter. Miles collected 8 of his 17 saves in the third quarter alone, allowing no goals in the third despite several good looks at cage by the Gauchos. Miles also showed promise serving as the field general while commanding the clear throughout the game, with the Seawolves clearing at a perfect 100% rate in the second half. It was Frangione who scored the only goal in the quarter (unassisted) on a nice take from "x".

Sophomore John Heck embraced his role as the team's FOGO throughout the game, battling hard and winning some timely draws down the stretch. In the fourth, Freshman midfielder Brady Tyler scored his first goal of his young career, stepping in on a man-up opportunity to paint the top left corner and show off his shooting prowess. Still, despite SSU narrowing the deficit to 5-8 early in the fourth quarter, the Seawolves could not complete their rally, losing in the end 5-11. 

Sonoma will have another tough test when they take on #8 ranked San Diego State University on Sunday, February 23rd at 12pm at Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, Ca.