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Krumpe Notches Win #100 in 2-1 Upset of #6 UC Santa Barbara
Sept. 13, 2009
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Head Coach Paul Krumpe gained his 100th career victory at LMU on Sunday in the Lions' 2-1 upset victory at #6 Santa Barbara in front of 2618 fans at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara. Redshirt freshman Max Young shut out the Gauchos (4-1-0) for over 86 minutes and was supported by first half goals from junior Rafael Baca and sophomore Phil Da Silva to help the Lions (3-1-0) to their best start since 2006. Now in his 12th year at LMU and already the school's leader in career wins, Krumpe became the fourth active West Coast Conference coach to reach the century mark by snapping a two-game losing streak to the Gauchos. By taking down the sixth-ranked Gauchos, the Lions toppled their highest-ranked opponent since downing #2 Connecticut in 2006. The win over the Gauchos also meant that LMU has defeated a ranked opponent in each year of this decade. Once again, Krumpe turned to his youngsters to carry the day. Handing Young his first career start, the redshirt freshman did not disappoint his coach or his team, making eight saves and keeping the high-scoring Gauchos, who entered the game having scored 13 goals in their first four games, off the scoreboard until the 86th minute. In fact, the LMU starting lineup featured just two seniors and only three players who had been a part of LMU's 2007 campaign that yielded a total of three wins, a feat that the 2009 squad has already equaled. One of those holdovers from 2007, team captain and Hermann Trophy candidate Baca, was responsible for giving the Lions the lead 24 minutes into the contest. On a counter-attack, senior William Johnson picked out Baca with a well-played ball over the top. Baca beat two defenders and then the goalie from the middle of the box for his team-leading third goal of the season and 10th of his career, most among active Lions.
The Lions kept their foot on the accelerator and it was a hustle play by Da Silva that doubled their lead. In the 34th minute, Da Silva unleashed a shot that was parried by UCSB goalie Sam Hayden. Da Silva reacted first to the rebound and put the follow-up away into an empty goal before Hayden or any Gaucho defender could react. The goal was welcome sight for Da Silva, who led the Lions in scoring last spring but had yet to find the net this campaign after scoring once as a freshman. In addition to the 2-0 lead, LMU held a 9-7 shot advantage in the first half but the second period would be about the defense. UCSB out-shot the Lions 11-2 after halftime but Young was equal to the task, registering five of his eight saves in the stanza. It wasn't until the 86th minute that the Gauchos were able to breach the Lion goal as Martin Hedevag headed home a cross by Danny Barrera that had been flicked-on by James Kiffe. That would be the last shot of the contest, however, as the Lions held on for the victory. LMU's 3-1-0 start matches that of the 2006 squad as the program's best since opening the 2002 season 3-0-1. The Lions also improved to 22-22-4 against top-25 opponents since 2001 while registering their second road victory of the season, twice the number from the past two seasons combined. LMU will stay away from home next weekend with two more ranked opponents in waiting at the San Diego Nike Classic. The Lions face #20 Michigan State on Friday at 4 p.m. and #13 Dartmouth on Sunday at 11 a.m. |
