SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sacramento State held a 1-0 lead into the final 12 minutes of regulation before UC Santa Barbara sophomore Nick DePuy scored an equalizer and the game-winner in the 94th minute to give the visiting Gauchos a 2-1 win.

Despite the loss the Hornets qualified for the Big West Tournament for the first time as a member of the conference. A 2-1 double-overtime win for UC Davis over Cal Poly clinched the No. 3 seed in the Big West North for Sacramento State.

The Hornets will play at No. 18 UC Irvine at 7 p.m. Saturday in the first round of the conference tournament after the Anteaters lost to UC Riverside on Wednesday to finish in second place in the South division. UC Irvine defeated Sacramento State 2-0 in Irvine earlier this season and has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation this season but has lost four of its last five games.

"It's exciting; it's our third year in the league and we are in the tournament for the first time so we're excited about that," Sacramento State head coach Michael Linenberger said. "We thank UC Davis for their help today and we're happy to be a part of it.

"The league is so good from top to bottom and there's no weak team. We know our task will be difficult no matter where we're drawn but we also feel that we have a chance against anybody so we're excited about that."

The emotions of the difficult loss were quickly tempered when the result from Davis came in. UC Santa Barbara (10-6-3, 6-2-2 Big West) finished as the division winner while UC Davis is the No. 2 seed and Sacramento State (6-10-3, 4-5-1 Big West) earned the final spot with Cal Poly eliminated from postseason contention.

UC Santa Barbara had two early header chances denied by Hornet goalkeeper Philip Bru. Sacramento State had just one shot on goal in the first half but they made it count as, off a free kick just above the top right corner of the box in the 34th minute, senior Andres Garcia connected with sophomore Javier Muñoz for a header off the far post and in.

The Hornets had a great chance to double their lead in the second half off a misplay by UC Santa Barbara goalkeeper Brandon Berke in the 68th minute. Senior Cody Hoster corralled the ball and had an open look on goal but his shot was narrowly cleared off the goal line by a Gaucho defender.

Ten minutes later the Gauchos drew even as DePuy headed home a chip into the goal mouth from teammate Ryo Fujii. Sacramento State freshman Paul Geyer nearly came back with a game winner in the 88th minute but his shot in close hit the post and was cleared.

The first quality scoring chance in overtime led to the game winner as Bru denied a shot from the top of the box by Reed McKenna but the rebound came to DePuy for an open finish.

"I thought they had the early part of the game but we started to get back into it middle to late first half and we got the goal," Linenberger said. "I thought the second half was a little bit back and forth and we had a couple of good chances to go up 2-0 and didn't quite convert and they equalized. Santa Barbara is a good team and this was the first time we've played them since we've been in the league that I felt we had a genuine chance to win the game."

The Gauchos held a 19-9 advantage in shots in the game and placed 11 shots on goal with Bru making nine saves. The Hornets had just two shots on goal, their lone score and the Hoster near miss, but created several good opportunities. DePuy led all players with seven shots and placed six on goal to score his ninth and 10th goals of the season.

Five Hornet seniors were honored prior to the game. The upper classmen saw their home careers come to an end on Wednesday but will get a chance to play in the Big West Tournament for the first time.