Box Score SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Forward Finn Ballard McBride scored two more goals, goalkeeper Leroy Zeller tied a season-high with six saves and the UC Santa Barbara men's soccer team earned its sixth straight clean sheet on Wednesday night in a 3-0 win over UC Davis at Harder Stadium.
Despite having played one fewer Big West match than 80 percent of the conference, the Gauchos (9-2-4, 4-0-2) move into sole possession of first place in the standings with 14 points. The Aggies (4-7-4, 3-2-2) fall to fourth place with 11 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Davis came out with a lot of energy in the opening minutes, but as things started to settle, UCSB began to dominate possession.
UCSB 1, UC Davis 0 – Ballard McBride 15' (R. Barragan)
Ballard McBride put away his first of the night in the 15th minute. A poor clearance put the ball right at senior Rigoberto Barragan's feet with a ton of space on the left wing and he crossed it into the middle of the box. It went just over the head of midfielder Lucas Gonzalez, falling right to Ballard McBride who overpowered his defender and skipped a clinical header inside the left post.
There were few more chances for either side over the course of the first half, as the Gauchos went into the break with a 3-1 edge in shots. However, the action would pick up in a big way over the final 45, with the two sides combining for 25 shots.
UCSB 2, UC Davis 0 – Lucas Gonzalez 47' (Baartman, Ballard McBride)
In perhaps their best moment of the night in terms of offensive cohesion, Gonzalez would double UCSB's advantage. Rene Pacheco passed to Ballard McBride in traffic, who slipped a crafty ball back into the run of Thaabit Baartman. The senior midfielder put it through to Gonzalez as he made his way into the left side of the box. UCD goalkeeper Gillen Spencer rushed out to meet him but went to ground too early, and Gonzalez patiently let the ball pass by before firing across the face of goal and in with his favored left foot.
Desperate to get on the board, the Aggies turned the pressure up the rest of the way, as they posted a remarkable 17 shot attempts in the second half – one shy of their season-high for an entire match. Luckily for the Gauchos, they had Zeller, who made stop after stop to preserve the shutout.
UCSB 3, UC Davis 0 – Ballard McBride 74' (S. Ayinla)
The game would finally be put to bed in the 74th minute. Gonzalez sent a great long ball ahead to freshman midfielder Dominick Phanco, who put an even more gorgeous cross into the six-yard box for Salaudeen Ayinla. Ayinla made great contact with a header, forcing an outstanding save by Spencer, but as he always seems to be, Ballard McBride was in the right place and first to the rebound, squeezing past his man and blasting an unsavable left-footed shot in for his second goal.
NOTABLE
- The Gauchos earned their sixth consecutive shutout, tied with the 2009 team for the longest run in program history. They have now outscored opponents 10-0 through six Big West games.
- After leading the conference with nine goals in his first two seasons with the Gauchos, Ballard McBride has reached double-figures with his 9th and 10th goals of this year. He now has two more than any other Big West player and 28 in his career, moving him into a tie with Luis Silva (2008-11) and Doug McKibbon (1968-72) for No. 7 all-time at UCSB.
- Zeller finished with six saves for the second time this year and sixth time in his Gaucho career. He also tied a career-high for saves in a half, with all six coming over the final 45 minutes. During Big West play, he has made 18 saves in the second half compared to six in the first half.
- Gonzalez became the fifth Gaucho to score multiple goals this season. He leads the team with five assists and is third with nine points.
QUOTABLE
Tim Vom Steeg on the match...
"It was a really important game. Tonight was the last night of having five starters out, but what we lost was goal scorers. We lost Chava, Nemo and Alexis, so we needed Finn to start scoring. He got a really important goal in the first half, and what's been the case for the whole conference, it's been Leroy and our defense. Huge win for us. We have to win our home games in conference and find a way to get some points on the road."
On the upcoming Cal Poly game...
"Well you look at the last Cal Poly game, Alexis got the first goal and Chava got the second. We've had to adjust, you've seen some newer, younger players get more minutes, we've played around with our front line, so it's been by committee a bit. We've been trying everything we can, we've changed our tactics to be a little more direct, a little less in the buildup to get after some teams, so that's helped us. On Saturday, we'll have to keep our emotions in check. Getting a goal early is huge, because then it gets everybody into the game and this thing can snowball. But, the longer we let Cal Poly stay in, the longer it takes to get that first goal, it can be one of those games where you're frustrated. We have to remain focused, it'll be nice to get Nemo back, so we're looking forward to Saturday."
NEXT UP
Santa Barbara will have just one more home game in the regular season, as the Gauchos get ready to host Blue-Green rival Cal Poly this Saturday at 7:00 p.m. on Senior Night.
