Get social with the Gauchos! To stay up-to-date on all things UCSB soccer, follow the team Twitter account, like us on Facebook, and bookmark the UCSB Soccer Community Outreach Blog.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – No. 23 UC Santa Barbara notched 20-plus shots for just the third time this season and forced Cal State Fullerton into playing a man down for the final 10 minutes of Saturday night's Big West Tournament Championship at Harder Stadium, but a fortuitous richochet off the UCSB goalpost was the difference in an eventual 1-0 win for the Titans. 

Mitchell Bell scored the only goal for the away team, knocking home a rebound in the 52nd minute after Robert Coronado's 20-yard shot banged off the inside of the right post, bouncing right to Bell, who shot into the open net.

It was a cruelly unfortunate blow for the Gauchos, who turned in one of their best efforts of the season, notching 22 shots and exhibiting textbook build-up play. 

Junior forward Nick DePuy led the way with a team-high and individual season-high eight shots, Freshman midfielder Geoffrey Acheampong added another six. Both DePuy and sophomore midfielder Kevin Feucht had shots clang off the woodwork. 

"I thought it was our best game of the season, we played extremely well tonight," said UCSB head coach Tim Vom Steeg. "It's a cruel game we play sometimes, so we just reset and get ready for whatever the NCAA has in store for us next week."

UCSB dominated the run of play in the first half of Saturday's contest, outshooting the Titans 9-2 and coming within inches of scoring on three separate occasions.

DePuy was the first to get a good look at goal, as his header at the back post in the 14th minute glanced off the crossbar. 

Junior midfielder Josue Espana had the team's next chance, sending in a low, hard shot from 25 yards out in the 21st minute. CSF keeper David Rodriguez Elias had to make a diving stop to his right, pushing the shot out and off the post. 

Finally, Feucht's dipping free kick in the last few minutes of the half rocked the crossbar. 

Except for a short lull to open the second half, UCSB remained in control despite not being able to produce an equalizer. The Gauchos went on to outshoot CSF 13-3 in the latter period – and two of those three shots for the Titans came on Bell's goal – and looked a sure bet to tie the game. 

In the 82nd minute, DePuy had an A-Grade chance, using his 6-4 frame to block a clearance from Titans center back Ricardo Covarrubias. The deflection led to a breakaway for DePuy, but he was taken down from behind just outside the box by Covarrubias, who was shown a straight red. 

DePuy got another opportunity for an equalizer just two minutes later when he was able to slide a shot towards the far post from 10 yards out, but the ball rolled just inches wide of the open corner. 

Entering the week with the No. 17 RPI in the country, UCSB is still likely to host a first round NCAA Tournament game next week despite tonight's loss, while there remains an outside chance the team could grab one of the tourney's top 16 seeds. The Gauchos will learn their fate on Monday morning at 10:00 a.m., as the team will host an open-to-the-public viewing of the NCAA Selection Show in the Reitnouer Auditorium inside the Intercollegiate Athletics Building on campus.