CORVALLIS, Ore. — It was hardly the start the UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer team wanted to their 2025 season on Thursday, as the Gauchos fell, 3-0, at Oregon State. However, there were some silver linings for the Blue and Gold, first and foremost being that 11 of their 16 new players got their first competitive minutes for Santa Barbara in the match. In particular, Steinar Bjornsson was lively in attacking midfield, and Mateos Carvalho nearly scored his first collegiate goal on the night.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos did get off to a good start. Prior to kickoff, head coach Tim Vom Steeg emphasized the importance of preventing the Beavers from controlling play in the midfield, and for the first half Santa Barbara did. The hosts did get the first chance of the game, shooting wide in a one-on-one situation, but that was a full 15 minutes in. Their next chance did not come for another quarter of an hour, and even then, it was an ambitious attempt from long range.
 
The problem for the Gauchos was that they were struggling to create chances of their own, going the entire first half without a shot on target. There were some promising moments though. In the 11^th minute, Bjornsson dribbled past his defender and made a lung-busting run down the left sideline, earning a corner kick for Santa Barbara when his cross attempt was blocked. In the 19^th, Bjornsson was nearly on the receiving end of a cross from Eddie Villeda, but the senior's curling delivery was just out of reach of both the Icelandic and Danish teammate, Nicolas Willumsen.
 
An early change brought the Gauchos their best chance of the game minutes later. Isaiah Barber came on in the 27^th minute as Vom Steeg replaced three of his four attacking players at once, and seven minutes later it nearly paid off. Thomas Noordegraaf got to the end line and lobbed a cross into the penalty area, with Barber getting on the end of it. His header slammed into the crossbar and down, but just stayed on the wrong side of the goal line.
 
In the 40^th minute, the hosts were back on the attack, putting a header of their own over the crossbar. Unfortunately for the Gauchos, the hosts finally found the back of the net just 39 seconds before halftime, taking a 1-0 lead into the break.
 
Returning from halftime with the lead, the Beavers took more control of the match in the second half. A low, driven shot from the top of the penalty arc forced a kick save out of Gaucho goalkeeper Luke Skinner, but less than a minute later the hosts found the net again. Making a quick counterattack after a turnover, another low driven shot from the top of the penalty area found the back of the net.
 
While Santa Barbara worked to try and find a way to fight back, the Beavers nearly scored again in the 63^rd minute, and they forced a great leaping save from Skinner in the 72^nd, the Englishman reaching up and pushing a shot over the bar. But again, Skinner's good deed did not go un-punished. Yet another low, long-range effort found the back of the net to put the game to bed in the 73^rd minute.
 
In the final 15 minutes, with a wave of new Gauchos on the field for the first time, Santa Barbara started to create some better scoring chances. In the 82^nd minute, Carvalho found Willumsen's head about 16 yards from goal, with the Dane registering the Gauchos' first shot on target of the match. Four minutes later, Carvalho popped up again, crashing a shot into the near post. In the final minute of the match, Santa Barbara had a free kick just outside the penalty area — prime shooting range — but Willumsen's shot slammed in to the wall of defenders.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Carvalho and Bjornsson were two of 11 student-athletes who made their official debuts for Santa Barbara on Thursday night, with Bjornsson one of four in the starting lineup, joined by Skinner, Justin Gomes and Buba Fofanah. Carvalho came off the bench, as did his former Irvine Strikers teammate and San Clemente High School classmate Cole Harris as well as Mika Ney, Jacob Blach, Colby Renton, Kevin Brown and Thomas Noordegraaf.
• Thursday's defeat extends a dreary streak in the state of Oregon for Santa Barbara. The Gauchos have just one win in their last five trips to the Beaver State since 2018.
• Willumsen was active as the focal point of the Gauchos' attack on Thursday night. While he did not find the net it was not for lack of trying, as the Dane matched his Gaucho career high with four shots on the evening, the most of anyone on the pitch.

 
UP NEXT
Another silver lining for Santa Barbara is that Thursday was just the first match of the season, and the Gauchos have eight more, plus an exhibition, to rebound and fine-tune things before Big West play begins in October. First up is Santa Barbara's home opener on Monday, Aug. 25, when the Gauchos host Central Arkansas. Kickoff from Harder Stadium is set for 7 p.m., with all the action streaming live on ESPN+ as well. Season and single-game tickets are on sale now at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets.