Box Score SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – A 3rd minute Salvador Aguilar goal made UC Santa Barbara the first team to score a first half goal on No. 5-T Stanford all year, but the Cardinal would recover to defeat the Gauchos 2-1 in Saturday's non-conference finale at Harder Stadium.
The Gauchos will head into their Big West opener on Wednesday with a 5-2-2 record. Stanford remains undefeated in 2022 improving to 5-0-3.
HOW IT HAPPENED
For a team that had just two days off after Wednesday's thrilling 2-1 win at Cal Poly, UCSB looked incredibly sharp to start against the Cardinal. The opening 12 minutes saw the Gauchos play perhaps their best soccer of the season, as they controlled possession and moved the ball around with flair and effectiveness.
UCSB 1, Stanford 0 – Salvador Aguilar 3' (Windisch)
It didn't take long for UCSB to get its largest crowd of the season to erupt. Coming out in a 3-4-3 formation, center back Timon Windisch was stationed further out to the left where he was fantastic all night long. Just after the clock reached two minutes, the German native played a gorgeous long ball forward with his favored left foot, sending Aguilar ahead in a foot race. The sophomore outran his man, taking one touch off his body before firing a low, driven shot at an angle right through Stanford goalkeeper Matt Frank's legs. It was the forward's fifth goal of the season and third straight game that he has scored.
Aguilar got another chance just a minute later as UCSB kept using its speed against Stanford's back line, but his first time shot from the edge of the box was saved. The Gaucho defense and midfield continued to shine until around the 12-minute mark, when a sudden shift in momentum saw the Cardinal become the aggressor.
UCSB 1, Stanford 1 – Jackson Kiil 16' (Tingey)
In the 16th minute, several tidy passes in Stanford's final third were just out of the reach of UCSB's defenders, and it led to the first opening as Keegan Tingey found Jackson Kiil with some space on the left side of the box. Kiil was able to fire a quick shot towards the far post outside of goalkeeper Leroy Zeller's reach and in, tying the game at 1-1.
UCSB 1, Stanford 2 – Keegan Hughes 52' (Agostinelli)
Stanford's high press became increasingly effective as the match wore on. The visitors earned a corner kick in the 52nd minute and Keegan Hughes would pick out their big target Carlo Agostinelli. Although he was marked well, Agostinelli's header took a deflection off a Gaucho defender and settled into the back of the net to put the Cardinal ahead for the first time.
No stranger to late-game situations where it needs a goal, Santa Barbara pushed forward with a final flurry of attempts over the final sequence of the game. Aguilar put one off the left post in the 75th and Rene Pacheco had a chance with an 88th minute volley from a tight angle, but he couldn't get enough on UCSB's final shot and it resulted in Frank making his third and final save of the night.
NOTABLE
- Along with being the first opening half goal Stanford has conceded, Aguilar's goal was just the third that Stanford has conceded at all in eight games this year.
- Outside of the two goals, UCSB's defense did a stellar job against a very talented offense. The Cardinal had just three shots on goal, as Leroy Zeller only had to make one save for the second straight game.
QUOTABLE
Tim Vom Steeg on the match...
"It was probably the best first 20 minutes of any game we've ever had against a Stanford team and we battled all the way to the end. Our defense played very well. In the second half it was hard, because when they drop in like that, you're attacking 10 guys that run after you and compete. They're a hard team to score goals against, and that's why you want to play with a lead, but other than the set piece goal in the second half, what was there?
"You couldn't draw it up any better than what we could've asked for. Our guys played at a higher level than they've played all year to compete here and we moved the ball around against a team that's really hard to pass against. We did a lot of great things. Other than the final score, I don't have any complaints about the way we went about tonight."
NEXT UP
Conference play is up next for the Gauchos. They will now prepare for Wednesday, Sept. 28's Big West opener against UC San Diego in a 7:00 p.m. home matchup.
