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IRVINE, Calif. -- Trailing 4-3 at the break, No. 2 seed and seventh-ranked Pacific used a five-goal third quarter to lift them to an 11-9 victory over No. 3 seed and sixth-ranked UC Santa Barbara in the first semifinal of the 2021 Golden Coast Conference Men's Championships Saturday night.
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With the game tied at 6-6 with less than two minutes to play in the third quarter, Pacific scored three straight to take the lead for good. Matthew Hosmer, Mihailo Vukacic and Jeremie Cote - who combined to score 10 of the Tigers' 11 goals - put the Tigers up 9-6 with 5:01 to put enough distance on the Gauchos.
The Tigers advance to Sunday's title game, taking on the winner of Long Beach State or San Jose State at 2 pm. The last trip for the Tigers to the title game was 2019. Cote led the Tigers (10-11) with four goals while Vukacic and Hosmer had three each. Nathan Puentes led UCSB (22-9) with four goals.
Down three, UCSB managed to cut the lead to just one, 9-8. Goals by Leo Yuno and Sawyer Rhodes cut the lead to just one with 2:11 to play. Cote then would answer with back-to-back goals to put the game on ice.
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