SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Long-time rivals UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara battled long into the night at Harder Stadium, fighting tooth and nail in one of two Big West Conference Tournament semifinals held on Saturday night. However, it would the the top-seeded Gauchos who gained the upper hand, scoring the game-winner with just over three minutes remaining in double overtime, eliminating the fifth-seeded Aggies, 1-0.

UC Davis, which advanced to the semifinals in the conference tournament for the ninth time in the program's history, finished the year at 9-10-1 overall and 4-4-1 in Big West play. UCSB improved to 11-4-4 overall and will host UC Irvine for the title on Nov. 13.

After a stout Aggie defense limited the Gauchos to only one shot over the first 45 minutes, UC Santa Barbara answered with six of the nine shot attempts in the second half, but none able to dent the back of the net. Goalkeeper Charles Janssen stopped Caden Vom Steeg with the first attempt after halftime and Thaabit Baartman clanged an attempt off the right goal post in the 71st minute, but the rest of the attempts went wide.

Two of UC Davis' three attempts in the second half tested UCSB goalkeeper Leroy Zeller, who was forced to make stops on shots by Ryan Dieter and Kaleb Schirmacher in the final five minutes, eventually finishing with five saves in the shutout.

The Aggies managed a corner in the fifth minute of the first overtime period, but was unable to convert. That set the stage for the second extra period as Nemo Philipp came on as a substiture in the 103rd minute and immediately made an impact. His shot just three minutes later missed high, but his second attempt did not as he took the ball from 25 yards out, dribbled into traffic at the top of the 18, and let loose a left-footed shot that danced through the defense and found room at the right post for the winning score.

Sophomore Maximilian Arfsten finished with three of his team's nine attempts on the night, while Schirmacher put both of his attempts on frame.
 

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