IRVINE, Calif. – No. 7/7 UC Irvine overcame several Gaucho rallies to come away with a 13-11 victory over No. 19/17 UC Santa Barbara Friday afternoon.
 
Brooke Hourigan facilitated the Anteaters offense behind an impressive seven-point outing with two goals and five assists. The graduate student added on three steals in the win.
 
UCI improves to 12-9 overall after their ninth-straight victory and remain an unblemished 4-0 in Big West action.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Both Lauren Hett and Sara Naulty notched hat-tricks in the contest
• Madi O'Hara had a multi-goal game with two scores
• Libby Alexander, Kennedy East, and Nioka Thomas rounded out the offense with one goal apiece
• Rachel Kirchner finished with 11 saves and a game-best four steals while in the cage
• Thomas drew a game-high six exclusions
• No. 19/17 UC Santa Barbara was led by Annie Kuester's five goals and four drawn exclusions

 
SCORING BREAKDOWN

• First period: The game started with a flurry of goals with one by Libby Alexander (7:02) in between two by No. 19/17 UC Santa Barbara. Nioka Thomas evened the score at 6:28 while up a player then Brooke Hourigan (3:44) struck from cross cage to give the Anteaters the one-goal advantage. The lead was short-lived with the Gauchos had a steal-and-score and then scored on the powerplay to move back in front. Thomas worked in center to draw a penalty which Sara Naulty deposited with 28 seconds left to tie the score at 4-4
  • Alexander (1), Hourigan (1), Naulty (1), and Thomas (1)
• Second period: UCSB scored on the breakaway to push the lead back in their direction before Hourigan dished the ball down low to Lauren Hett (4:52) who scored on the powerplay. It remained all Anteaters in the final four minutes as Naulty placed the ball in center for Madi O'Hara (3:01) and Hett rocketing a goal from a far distance with 51 seconds left to give UCI the 7-5 halftime lead
  • Hett (2) and O'Hara (1)
• Third period: The Gauchos once again were the first to score with a back post push at 7:23 then Naulty fired a goal close while on the right side at 6:57. UCSB used two powerplays, the last at 4:50, to swing the momentum back in their favor to tie the game 8-8. No. 7/7 UC Irvine responded with an upper shelf placement from Hourigan (4:20) until UCSB answered on the other end at 4:00 to keep it equal. On a transition play, Hett was left all alone and took advantage with a goal at 1:32 keeping UCI on top 10-9
  • Hett (1), Hourigan (1), and Naulty (1)
• Fourth period: After winning the sprint for the Anteaters, Kennedy East took it herself and buried the goal at 7:46. A Gaucho backhand goal and another through the arms of the keeper knotted the game 11-all at 6:27. O'Hara (6:12) grabbed the lead back on the next trip down the pool. After five minutes of defensive stops for both teams, Naulty slid to the right side of the cage and carefully fired the ball over the head of the UCSB goalie's head, scoring an important goal with 1:25 left to play. On defense, Rachel Kirchner made a great read on a pass out of the cage to poke the ball away to help secure the victory
  • East (1), Naulty (1), and O'Hara (1)

 
UP NEXT
No. 7/7 UC Irvine flies out to the island to take on fellow undefeated in Big West play No. 3 Hawai'i on Saturday Apr. 5 at 9 p.m. PT (6 p.m. HT).