PHOENIX (Sept. 12, 2023) — Thirty-five minutes into Tuesday night's men's soccer match, UC Santa Barbara (3-3) and Grand Canyon (3-3) were interrupted by mother nature. After a nearly 90-minute lightning delay, the teams returned to the field and completed the contest, though the Gauchos may have wished they'd stayed in the locker room. Three second-half goals, all against the run of play and two on late breakaways, gave the home side a 3-0 victory.

FROM HEAD COACH TIM VOM STEEG
"We out-shot them, 22 to 11, and controlled the game but once again on the road we failed to get the first goal and then fell behind," Vom Steeg said. "It was another good performance between the 18-yard boxes, but the game is won inside the boxes."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first 35 minutes of action on Tuesday night were largely even, with each team managing a couple shots, none of which required much effort from the opposing goalkeepers. Then, the match was paused as a thunderstorm rolled through Phoenix. By the time the teams returned to the pitch, it was 9:30 p.m. Not that the late hour seemed to be bothering the players, especially not the Gauchos. In a two-minute span shortly after the restart, UC Santa Barbara fired four shots goal-ward, including Salvador Aguilar finding himself one-on-one with the Antelope goalkeeper. Aguilar tried to beat him with a low, driven shot but was denied. The Gauchos' other three attempts in their flurry were all blocked by GCU defenders, leaving the match scoreless at halftime.
 
After a shortened halftime break, the Gauchos came back and maintained their momentum advantage. In the 54^th minute, Aguilar forced another save from the Lopes' goalkeeper, then narrowly missed a header at the front post from the ensuing corner. After that missed chance, things became instantly worse, as GCU took the ball the other way and scored only two minutes later. Despite the Lopes having the lead the Gauchos continued to attack well and create chances. On the hour mark, Alexis Ledoux forced a save with a low-line drive, and in the 64^th, Nicolas Willumsen saw his close-range shot blocked.
 
The Gauchos' next great opportunity to equalize came in the 85^th minute, when Lucas Gonzalez forced the best save of the night from GCU's keeper, a diving effort to keep out a shot curling toward the back post. It also turned out to be the Gauchos' last chance to equalize, as less than a minute later the first of two late breakaways allowed the hosts to double their lead. They would make it 3-0 only seconds later in the 87^th minute with a near-identical breakaway.
 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will return home for their next match, hosting Kansas City at Harder Stadium on Saturday, September 16 at 7 p.m. Saturday is Hispanic Heritage Night and Revolution Night. Santa Barbara Revolution players who wear their jersey on Saturday will receive free admission. For fans who are not able to make it to the stadium, the match will be live on ESPN+ with live stats available on ucsbgauchos.com.