SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer team continued its home unbeaten streak on Saturday, settling for a 1-1 draw with Cal State Fullerton despite playing the final 35 minutes with just 10 men. Alexis Ledoux scored his 14^th goal of the season to put the Gauchos ahead in the first half, but an 88^th minute equalizer denied Santa Barbara what would have been a famous victory. The result, combined with results elsewhere in the conference does still secure the Gauchos a berth in The Big West Championship. A win next Saturday in Riverside would give Santa Barbara the No. 1 seed.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos honored 14 graduating seniors before kickoff on Saturday, and it was not long after kickoff that one of those seniors celebrated goal number 14. After a corner kick was knocked away, Caden Vom Steeg's second cross attempt was hit up into the air and fell at the feet of Ledoux atop the penalty area. The Frenchman took one touch to elude a Titan defender and then laced a worm-burning line drive shot into the bottom left corner of the goal to put his team up, 1-0.
 
It was really all Gauchos for most of the first half, and Zac Siebenlist nearly doubled the hosts' advantage in the 12^th minute. The freshman took a pair of close-range shots, forcing a great save on the first and being stuffed again on his attempt to knock home the rebound, but Santa Barbara's tails were up. They won six corner kicks and fired a total of 11 shots in the first half, to just one and eight from Cal State Fullerton.
 
A couple of those eight Titan shots did trouble Gaucho goalkeeper David Mitzner, though he was up to the test both times. His finest save of his Senior Night was a finger-tip deflection to push a shot harmlessly onto his far post. Mitzner's efforts kept the Gauchos ahead at halftime, and they remained in control of the match for the first 10 minutes of the second half as well.
 
However, the game turned on its head in the 55^th minute, when Ethan Senter was issued a second yellow card following a video review. The Titans put the ball in the back of the net on the ensuing free kick, though the goal was called back for offside.
 
To defend their lead, Santa Barbara was forced to adopt a more defensive gameplan for the final half hour and change, putting most of their players behind the ball. That approach did not stop Nicolas Willumsen from leveling a trio of shots at the Titan goal in the 59^th and 61^st minutes, with two taking some stopping from either the Fullerton defense or their goalkeeper.
 
Otherwise, forays forward were few and far between, as the Gauchos expended nearly all of their energy in defense, with everyone involved playing valiantly. Filip Basili, Peleg Brown and Vom Steeg all made crucial tackles and interceptions in the wide areas, while Andrew Kamienski and Haruki Utsumi made the Gaucho penalty area a no-fly zone. Between the red card and the 80^th minute, Santa Barbara's defense limited Fullerton to just one shot, which missed the target. Even in the final 10 minutes, the Titans only created four shots, one of which Utsumi cleared off the line and another Mitzner handled comfortably. Heartbreakingly, it was the last shot of the game that found the back of the net for the Titans.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• With his goal Saturday night, Alexis Ledoux is now in a four-way tie for the eighth-most goals scored in a single season by a Gaucho (14), alongside Chris Pontius (2008), Drew McAthy (2003) and Scott Grasinger (1982). Nick DePuy and Matt Arya's 15-goal campaigns in 2015 and 1994, respectively, are next up for Ledoux to chase.
• Ledoux also ranks ninth in program history for single-season points, with 33. McAthy's mark of 36 points from 2002 is next for Ledoux to catch.
• Speaking of points, Saturday night's draw puts the Gauchos on 15 points, still alone atop The Big West standings with just one match to play. Santa Barbara has already clinched a spot in The Big West Championship, and the No. 1 seed is still on the table. A win at UC Riverside would secure it regardless of results elsewhere, though a draw or even a loss could be sufficient, depending on how much help the Gauchos get.

 
UP NEXT
Santa Barbara heads to UC Riverside for the final match of the regular season, at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.