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FULLERTON, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara men's soccer team (5-3-2, 1-0-0 Big West) defeated Cal State Fullerton 4-2 on the opening night of Big West Conference play on Wednesday night at Titan Stadium.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Fullerton's Irving Arvizu connected on the end of a free kick curled into the box by Sebastian Cruz to put the hosts up in the fourth minute.
• UCSB didn't wait long to reply, as in the 14^th minute sophomore attacker Finn Ballard McBride hesitated on the ball at the top of the box after receiving a pass from his right side, then looking for redshirt freshman Lucas Gonzalez only for his attempted pass to take a heavy deflection into the feet of freshman forward Salvador Aguilar, who hit it first time into the top right corner of the goal from the left of the penalty spot.

GOAL THREAD ⚽�� from our @BigWestSports opener at @FullertonMSOC!

We tied it up in the 15th minute on a Salvador Aguilar goal, his second of the year. �� on the finish from Chava!#GoGauchos pic.twitter.com/82MHk7Gt1u

— UCSB Men's Soccer (@UCSBMensSoccer) September 30, 2021

• In the 21^st minute, senior forward Rigoberto Barragan linked up with Gonzalez on the left wing, with the latter crossing in a ball that Ballard McBride brought down on an outstretched right foot while holding off a defender, bouncing it into space ahead of sophomore defender Jorge Aldana, who put it away on his left foot.

Jorge Aldana smashed in a chance on his left foot in the 21st minute to take the lead!#GoGauchos pic.twitter.com/omY5uOq4Cq

— UCSB Men's Soccer (@UCSBMensSoccer) September 30, 2021

• The Gauchos went ahead 3-1 in the 54^th minute, with senior forward Ameyawu Muntari benefiting from an Aldana cross to beat Cal State Fullerton goalkeeper Jose Espino at the near post with a right-footed shot.

Ameyawu Muntari kept it rolling with this 54th minute strike ��#GoGauchos pic.twitter.com/t5z9EVlIcT

— UCSB Men's Soccer (@UCSBMensSoccer) September 30, 2021

• Fullerton pulled one back in the 69^th minute of the contest when Samuel Owusu took advantage of a poor UCSB clearance to cut the lead back down to one.
• However, the blue and gold managed to seal the deal when senior center back William Gillingham cleared the ball ahead to Ballard McBride, with the Aussie looking up and playing junior forward Thaabit Baartman through onto goal to score and kill Fullerton's comeback bad in the process.

GAUCHOS WIN 4-2 at @FullertonMSOC to kick off the @BigWestSports slate!@BaartmanThaabit sealed the deal in the 87th minute ⬇#GoGauchos pic.twitter.com/mUdcSw7T3I

— UCSB Men's Soccer (@UCSBMensSoccer) September 30, 2021

NOTABLE

• Both Ballard McBride and Gonzalez had two assists on the night, bringing their totals to five and three helpers on the year, respectively.
• The win is the Gauchos' fourth result when playing from behind. This was the seventh time this season in which their opponent scored first.
• The win is the 35^th all-time victory for UCSB over Cal State Fullerton.
• The Gauchos' six goals in the past two games equal the team's output from the previous five contests before then.

UP NEXT

• UCSB heads north to Davis to take on fellow preseason Big West coaches poll top pick UC Davis. The game will kick off at 1:00 p.m. Live stream and live stat links will be available on the UCSB men's soccer schedule page.

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