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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Junior forward Nick DePuy started off his 2015 campaign with a brace while midfielders Drew Murphy and Kevin Feucht added goals as well to lead UC Santa Barbara to a 4-1 win over Montecito-based Westmont College in Saturday night's season-opening exhibition. 

"Even though it was an exhibition, I was encouraged by the performance of the team tonight," said head coach Tim Vom Steeg. "This is going to be a team that scores a lot of goals and I think you saw that tonight. You can train as much as you want but nothing simulates the lights and big crowds, so we're glad that a lot of our young players were able to get in and have that experience."

Energized by the sizable crowd right from kickoff, the Gauchos dominated the run of play early. Newcomer Ahinga Selemani, a forward transfer from Michigan, was fouled just inside the left-hand side of the box in the sixth minute, leading to an easy penalty kick goal for Murphy, who beat Warriors keeper Josh Glover by going to the goalie's left. 

DePuy and junior left back Ismaila Jome didn't wait long in 2015 to rekindle their on-field connection, hooking up for UCSB's second goal in the 28th minute. Joining the attack down the left wing, Jome froze his marker with a stepover move before striding towards the goal line and swinging in a cross for the DePuy. The reigning Big West Offensive Player of the Year then moved in front of his defender and got his foot on the ball, redirecting it inside the far post. 

Feucht, a German native who transferred to UCSB from the College of Charleston, showed a glimpse of what Gaucho fans can expect from him as a lockdown holding midfielder with the ability to enter the attack and be dangerous on set pieces. He opened his UCSB scoring account in the waning minutes of the first half on Saturday night, getting his head on a Drew Murphy free kick from deep down the right wing and sending it past Glover. 

Westmont got their one goal of the game in a battle between coach's sons. The Warriors were awarded a penalty kick in the final minute of the first half, and Westmont head coach Dave Wolf sent his son Tanner to the spot. Wolf's initial penalty drive was stopped by Justin Vom Steeg, the son of Tim who was making his UCSB debut, but the rebound of the shot came right back to Wolf who was able to drive it back into the net. 

Vom Steeg played just under an hour on Saturday night, making two saves. He was relieved by sophomore Brandon Berke, who made one stop in 32 minutes of action. 

DePuy restored UCSB's three-goal lead in the 59th minute, driving a long-range shot just inside the left goalpost. 

The Gauchos ended up outshooting the Warriors 13-8 on the night. 

UCSB will open the regular season with one of the most exciting games of the year, as they are set to host Pac-12 power Stanford and US Men's National Team star Jordan Morris on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. The game is the second half of a doubleheader, with the women's soccer team playing their home-opener at 5:00 p.m.

Season tickets for the 2015 campaign are still available! To purchase season tickets for UCSB men's soccer, or for additional information, please drop by the Athletics Ticket Office in the Intercollegiate Athletics Building on campus, call (805) 893-UCSB (8272) or online by clicking here.