Box Score SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – What has already been a stellar week for junior right winger Rodney Michael, senior right wingback Noah Billingsley, and freshman attacking midfielder Finn Ballard McBride continued in the 12th-ranked UC Santa Barbara men's soccer team's 2-0 win over UC Riverside on Wednesday night at Harder Stadium.
The trio, who were announced as winners of several conference and national player of the week awards on Monday and Tuesday, combined for both goals on the night as the Gauchos (10-2-2) earned their third consecutive shutout, fourth-straight win, and 11th unbeaten result in a row.
"They are competitive, they play hard, and they have two or three of the more skilled midfielders in our conference," head coach Tim Vom Steeg said of the opposition," We weren't really sharp enough in the first 30 minutes, but I thought we came out with good energy at the start of the second half. It was a good result for us."
Following a dry first half from both teams, it took just six and a half minutes of the new period for the Gauchos to grab the first goal.
Michael did brilliantly to fool his defender and deliver a ball to the near post, where Ballard McBride got it out from under his feet and banged it into the net.
"Tim [Vom Steeg] has told us all season about getting numbers in the box and once you get it wide and cross it enough times, there's bound to be a mistake, someone open, or a missed clearance, and you've got to be in the right place at the right time and I was just there," said Ballard McBride of the first goal.
Ballard McBride put the Gauchos two goals to the good in the 67th minute, after he headed a ball from Billingsley straight into goal, beating Riverside goalkeeper Edwyn Gutierrez.
Sophomore goalkeeper Ben Roach helped Santa Barbara survive some scares throughout the match to get UCSB its seventh clean sheet of the season, including a 58th-minute free kick from Riverside's Daniel Aguirre that Roach punched away with his right fist in midair.
Michael extended his point streak to eight games, while Ballard McBride has now found the back of the net in each of the past four matches and six of the past seven.
Fresh off his triple-assist game at No. 22 Cal State Fullerton over the weekend, Billingsley has now recorded assists in two matches in a row.
With the win, UCSB stayed perched atop the Big West Conference table with nine points from its three wins in three league matches.
The Gauchos will play the last game of their regular season home schedule on Saturday night against UC Irvine in a pivotal one-two matchup in the conference. The action begins at 7 p.m. following a pregame ceremony honoring UCSB's eight seniors. Saturday night's match is also AYSO Banner Night, in which AYSO players wearing their jerseys get into the match free and teams are invited to display their banners on the field at halftime. As always, a live stream will be provided via BigWest.TV and live stats will be available on the men's soccer schedule page.
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