SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara and Westmont Men's Soccer teams met in the 63^rd edition of the Community Shield on Saturday, a match that had all the trappings of a crosstown rivalry without any of the restraint or caution that would be expected of an early-season exhibition. The first 15 minutes saw the Gauchos race out to a 3-1 lead, but the final 15 saw the Warriors scramble back into the match, with UC Santa Barbara holding on for a 4-3 victory. Buba Fofanah provided the game-winning strike for the Gauchos, while Zac Siebenlist added a goal as well, his third in two appearances against Westmont.
 
FROM HEAD COACH TIM VOM STEEG
"We won the game, which was good," UC Santa Barbara head coach Tim Vom Steeg said. "I mean, it was 4-1 and the game was over, and then we make a mistake and we get them back in the game. And we have to be very mindful that this is their kickoff game for the weekend and for us we have easily six players who we need to give time off, so we just have to maintain the big picture idea here of the season. It is kind of crazy that at 4-1 we just couldn't finish the game, but 4-3 I guess is a win."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first 15 minutes came at a breakneck pace, with four goals hitting the back of the net before some fans' backsides had hit their seats. It started with a nice move from Westmont to open the scoring in the fifth minute, but their lead did not even last 30 seconds. Right after the kickoff, Ethan Senter decided to have a crack from easily 35 yards out, and he was rewarded for his ambition as the ball snuck past the Warriors' keeper and into the bottom corner to re-level the scores at one-all.
 
Five minutes later, it was Siebenlist scoring again in the Community Shield to give UC Santa Barbara the lead. Kevin Brown's delivery into the penalty area was blocked and fell to Dominick Phanco, whose shot from the top of the area was also blocked, this time bouncing over to Siebenlist, who fired it into the far bottom corner with one touch for his third all-time goal in the cross-town rivalry.
 
He nearly had another just a minute later, as Colby Renton dribbled his way into space on the left wing and fired a low cross into the area, aiming for Siebenlist arriving at the near post. However, before it could find the Gaucho forward, a Westmont defender made a sliding attempt to block the pass, only to inadvertently put the ball into his own net.
 
Phanco had a shot saved in the 19^th minute, but other than that both teams were able to stem the flow of scoring chances, and it remained 3-1 at halftime. It took nearly 15 minutes after halftime for the next goal to come, and it was Fofanah pouncing on a mistake. A misplayed pass gave the Santa Barbara Soccer Club alum the ball with acres of space in the Westmont penalty area, and he was able to comfortably round the goalkeeper and a recovering defender to tap home in an open goal.
 
Ocean Salari, making his first appearance after an arm injury in preseason, had come on at halftime and looked lively, forcing a save from the Westmont goalkeeper in the 60^th minute, but after that moment more and more of the opportunities were for the Warriors to score.
 
Westmont got a goal back in the 75^th minute and thought they had another just three minutes later, only for it to get called back for offside, a ruling upheld after video review. They hit the woodwork in the 80^th and forced a nice save from Gaucho goalkeeper Owen Beninga in the 83^rd as Santa Barbara did their best to fend off the attacks. The defense finally cracked in the 88^th minute, allowing the Warriors back within one, but it was too little, too late for the boys from Montecito.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• With seven total goals scored between the two teams, Saturday was the highest-scoring Community Shield match since 2018, when UC Santa Barbara won 7-0. Saturday was the fourth time since 2018 (that 7-0 win included) that the Gauchos scored four or more against the Warriors; it was the first time since 2005 — also a 4-3 UC Santa Barbara win — that they conceded three to the Warriors.
• Siebenlist and Fofanah, both of whom played over 90 minutes across the Gauchos' two games earlier this week, made the most of their cameos on Saturday night; Siebenlist collected his goal in just 36 minutes of playing time and Fofanah his in just 31 minutes.
• Siebenlist and Fofanah were two of 21 players Vom Steeg deployed on Saturday, with the Gauchos altering their lineup 18 times during the game. In fact, the longest that a single group of 11 Gauchos managed to all stay on the pitch together was the 16:41 that the starters got before the first substitution.
• A total of 1,253 fans came out to watch Saturday night's match, making it the highest-attended Community Shield since 2021.

 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos now have six days off before returning to competiton, hosting Cornell at Harder Stadium on Friday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. Like Santa Barbara, Cornell made the NCAA Tournament in 2024 and will be the Gauchos' third opponent who did so. Tickets for all home UC Santa Barbara soccer matches are on sale now at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets, and fans can catch all the action from anywhere, live on ESPN+ or by following along with live stats.