SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer team took its first step toward another Big West Championship on Wednesday night, clinching their spot in the conference tournament with a comprehensive 2-0 win over Sacramento State. Steinar Bjornsson and Nicolas Willumsen provided the goals, while Owen Beninga and the Gaucho defense kept their eighth clean sheet of the season.
 
FROM HEAD COACH TIM VOM STEEG
"The big change for them was they came out with five defenders, something we hadn't seen from them all year, and with the five defenders you've got no choice but to drop in … so that's why it was really important to finally get that first goal, especially in the first half," Vom Steeg said. "Fortunately, this game was at home, where we usually find a way to get going, and then we also caught a break with the ball going through the goalie's legs. It was a nice setup for the goal, but at the end of the day, it went through his legs. That helped, and then Nico got his first goal of the season, that helps, and then after that I thought we controlled the play really well. Their number 21 [Donovan Sessoms] is one of the two or three best players in the league, so as long as he's on the field, it's always dangerous."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
With their visitors content to sit back and defend, the Gauchos took the invitation to attack, controlling the possession for essentially the entire match. Drew Kamienski, Zac Siebenlist and Ocean Salari all put shots on target inside the first 10 minutes, though only Salari's curling effort in the ninth required any exertion for the Sacramento State goalkeeper to stop. In the 23^rd minute, Thomas Noordegraaf got a wide-open header eight yards from goal but put it just the wrong side of the post. But Santa Barbara kept on knocking, and three minutes later, with their ninth shot of the night, finally took the Hornets' door off its hinges.
 
The goal itself was gift-wrapped for Bjornsson, who pounced on a bad pass just 25 yards from goal, took one touch to get into the penalty area, and let loose a shot that squeaked through the goalkeeper's legs and into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
 
The score and the flow of play was enough to comfortably grant the Gauchos the upper hand, though as Vom Steeg alluded to, Sacramento State forward Donovan Sessoms had the talent to break that hand if Santa Barbara was not careful. The Hornets' star had broken through the Gauchos' defense in the 10^th minute, with Kamienski and Calle Mollerberg both racing back and doing just enough to keep him from testing Beninga, Mollerberg making a sliding block no more than 12 yards from goal to end a run which had begun at midfield.
 
But that was the Hornets' most dangerous opportunity of the half, as the visitors only forced one save from Beninga in the Gaucho goal during the first 45.
 
If there was any crack in the door to suggest that Sacramento State may get back into the game at halftime, Santa Barbara slammed it shut shortly after the break. Four minutes into the second half, Ramses Martinez and Willumsen combined to set up Jack Middleton for what would have been his first collegiate goal, but it was called back for offside after video review. At the hour mark, the Gauchos got their second of the evening for real, with Willumsen involved again. Noordegraaf received the ball with acres of space in midfield and dribbled into it before playing a ball to Willumsen between two Hornet defenders. The great Dane shrugged them off and raced through on goal, finishing into the bottom corner for his first score of the year. He thought he had his second of the year four minutes later, but that was called back for a foul, the Dane judged to have used too much muscle in that instance.
 
Still, Willumsen's score had put the game to bed as the Gauchos were able to maintain control of the match, Sacramento State not offering much in terms of a fightback. Santa Barbara did have to survive a dangerous moment in the 71^st minute, Kamienski making a goal-line block and the defense rallying to stuff a follow-up shot. The Hornets only had one more shot all evening, which was 15 minutes before the final whistle and which went safely high over the goal.
 
Meanwhile, Santa Barbara was not done trying to score, putting up five shots in the game's final 15 minutes. Eddie Villeda nearly had two great goals, first going on a mazy run through the defense and second connecting for a volleyed attempt, but both went wide. Bjornsson also put one wide in pursuit of his second goal, and Siebenlist was denied by the crossbar.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Wednesday night was one of the Gauchos' most impressive attacking performances this season, resulting in just their fourth multi-goal game this year. Their 11 shots on goal are a season-high, level with 11 attempts on target in the 2-1 win over Central Arkansas, but they took fewer total shots than that match, 25 to a season-high 28. However, that does not make Wednesday the Gauchos' most accurate shooting performance of the season; that title belongs to their 1-0 win at Cal State Fullerton, when six of their nine attempts were on frame.
• Wednesday night was also another great defensive performance, Santa Barbara's eighth shutout of the season and seventh in the last 10 games. While Owen Beninga is still not qualified for The Big West stat leaderboards, his six clean sheets would tie him for second in the conference, and his 0.13 goals-against average and 96.2 save percentage would both top the conference by some distance.
• The Gauchos are now unbeaten in their last 10 matches, equaling the seventh-longest such run in program history, which they last accomplished in 2021. Santa Barbara's longest undefeated streak under Coach Vom Steeg is 12 matches, part of the 2004 season which saw them make their first College Cup appearance. The program's longest streak is 17 games without defeat, which has stood since 1982.  

 
UP NEXT
Santa Barbara's final home match of the regular season is on Saturday against UC Irvine and it is a pivotal one. With a win, the Gauchos would clinch one of the top two seeds for The Big West Championship, and with it a crucial first-round bye. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., with UC Santa Barbara set to recognize 10 graduating student-athletes for Senior Night prior to the match. Tickets are on sale now at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets and fans can catch all the action from anywhere, live on ESPN+.