CSU got things going quickly in the first quarter as sophomore midfielder Ryan MacDonald (Aurora, CO; Smokey Hill HS) finished off a well-executed offensive set on a pass from junior attackman Danny Stevens (Suffern, NY; Suffern HS) to score with only :33 gone in the game. The offense continued to click well throughout the quarter as Stevens got his second of four assists on an inside feed to junior midfielder Brian Stone (Colorado Springs, CO; Air Academy). Freshman midfielder Steven Lundberg (Englewood, CO; Cherry Creek HS) then took his man down the wing and fired a well-placed shot into the lower left of the net to give the Rams a 3-0 lead midway through the first.

While everything seemed to be going Colorado State's way early, UC-Santa Barbara began to show the type of grit that earned them two overtime victories earlier in the season. Thanks to Luke Shaw (2a) and George Granelli (2g, 1a), the Gauchos were able to tie the game at three with 8:01 left in the first half. CSU junior midfielder Brian Vickery (Aurora, CO; Rangeview HS) finally stopped the UCSB run when he finished another feed from Stevens with 4:32 left to give the Rams a 4-3 heading into halftime.

Sophomore attackman Campbell Diebolt (Doylestown, PA; Central Bucks East HS) scored the lone goal of the third quarter on Stevens' fourth assist to push the lead back to two. Both defenses began to settle into the game in the second half as they held the opposing offenses to limited chances in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was a different story, however, as the pace reached a crescendo.

CSU got a huge goal from sophomore attackman Dylan Bowman (Boulder, CO; Fairview HS) after he released a one-minute stick penalty and finished a fast break from junior midfielder Pat Bird (Oakland, CA; Bishop O'Dowd HS) to make the game 6-3.

Once again, UCSB fought back with two goals from George Granelli and Nick Stratton to tighten the game with only 6:19 to go. CSU then found themselves down one man for two minutes after sophomore defenseman Dylan Preble (Bainbridge, WA; Bainbridge Island HS) incurred two penalties for big hits on the defensive end of the field. While CSU was killing the penalty, they cleared the ball and called a timeout with only 1:12 remaining. UCSB got the ball on the ground and began to clear it themselves, but Diebolt was called for a hold on the ride and the Gauchos had their six on four opportunity with only :45 left in the game.

Pete Jokisch had been solid throughout the first three quarters, but it was his save in the fourth on the six on four that helped his team the most. His save on the six on four allowed the Rams to get one defender back. UCSB then threw the ball away with :04 left and the Rams salted away the victory to go 1-0 on the season. Jokisch finished the game with seven saves while UCSB's Mike Sheridan recorded four.

Colorado State held a slight advantage in all categories except for penalties. The Rams were flagged for six penalties while UCSB only received one.

Colorado State (1-0) will move on to play the Division III Whittier Poets on Saturday before heading home. Whittier defeated BYU 14-4 by outscoring the Cougars 11-1 in the second half on Thursday. The game will be the first ever between the two teams.

Game Notes:
- While UCSB has held a solid home field advantage over most other teams, this was Colorado State's second consecutive win over the Gauchos in Harder Stadium. CSU defeated UCSB 12-9 in 1999 as part of their first ever national championship season.
- CSU now leads the overall series with UCSB 5-2 since that 1999 victory.
- Six different players scored the six goals for the Rams.
- Danny Stevens four assists gave him the high point total of the game. UCSB's Granelli finished with three points on two goals and one assist.
- CSU won the groundball war by a 29-21 margin. Lee Cates (Aurora, CO; Rangeview HS) and Jokisch led the team with four grounders a piece.

Lacrosse Box Score
Colorado State vs Santa Barbara (Feb 23, 2006 at Santa Barbara, CA)


Colorado State (1-0) vs.                          SCORE BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
Santa Barbara (4-1)                               -------------------------------------
Date: Feb 23, 2006  Attendance: 350               Colorado State......  3  1  1  1 -  6
Weather: Clear and cool.                          Santa Barbara.......  1  2  0  2 -  5


Colorado State SCORING: 
GOALS: Campbell Diebolt 1; Brian Vickery 1; Dylan Bowman 1; Steven Lundberg 1; 
Ryan MacDonald 1; Brian Stone 1.

ASSISTS: Danny Stevens 4; Pat Bird 1.


Santa Barbara SCORING: 
GOALS: George Granelli 2; Nicholas Schooler 1; Nicholas Stratton 1; Jack Miller 1.

ASSISTS: Luke Shaw 2; George Granelli 1; Nicholas Schooler 1.



SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot             SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------             -------------------------------------
Colorado State......  6  6 10  7 - 29             Colorado State......  1  2  2  2 -  7
Santa Barbara.......  6  6  3  9 - 24             Santa Barbara.......  1  1  1  1 -  4


GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  3  4  Tot             TURNOVERS BY PRD      1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------             -------------------------------------
Colorado State......  7  5 10  7 - 29             Colorado State......  6  4  8  5 - 23
Santa Barbara.......  3  6  6  6 - 21             Santa Barbara.......  7  5  9  7 - 28


FACE-OFFS BY PRD       1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
Colorado State......  4-5   1-4   1-2   2-3  -  8-14
Santa Barbara.......  1-5   3-4   1-2   1-3  -  6-14


CLEARS BY PERIOD       1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
Colorado State......  6-6   5-5   5-6   6-6  - 22-23
Santa Barbara.......  5-5   5-7   7-10  6-6  - 23-28


EXTRA-MAN OPPS         1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------

Colorado State......  0-1   0-0   0-0   0-0  -  0-1
Santa Barbara.......  0-0   0-0   0-1   0-3  -  0-5

PENALTIES - CSU 6/5:00; UCSB 1/0:30.