SAN DIEGO — Aside from Isaiah Barber's goal, it was a night to forget for the UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer team in San Diego on Wednesday. The Gauchos controlled the majority of the possession, but three mistakes gave the hosts three goals and the Toreros turned that into a 3-1 win.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Alarm bells were ringing early for the Blue and Gold, as Luke Skinner was forced into a nice diving save within the first two minutes, and things only got worse as a misplayed pass gave the hosts a tap in for their first goal just eight minutes into the match. However, the Gauchos refused to let the game go off the rails. Skinner had to make another decent save in the 14^th minute, but it had come from a counterattack. After conceding, Santa Barbara had only grown into the game, finishing the first half with 54% of the possession. The only issue was trying to break down San Diego's defensive block as the hosts had sat back after taking the lead. Well, not the only issue. The Toreros sprung a counterattack just two minutes before halftime, and a miss-hit clearance kept the ball with the hosts at the top of the penalty area. Two passes later, it was 2-0.
 
Having regrouped at halftime, the Gauchos played a cleaner game in the second half, continuing to control possession while now managing to create scoring chances. After managing just one shot in the first 45 minutes, Santa Barbara created seven in the second 45, threatening a comeback. Barber's goal made a Gaucho rally a real possibility, especially since it came just nine minutes into the half. From a free kick about 45 yards from goal, Steinar Bjornsson played a perfect, floating ball which found Barber leaping over his defender just five yards from the net, the junior nodding a shot past the Torero goalkeeper and pulling Santa Barbara within a goal.
 
The Gauchos stayed on the front foot for a good 35 minutes afterwards too, just not quite able to find an equalizer. Ocean Salari was the liveliest of Santa Barbara's midfield creators during that spell, with a killer final pass often the only thing that eluded him. Just past the hour mark, Salari bolted past his defender and got off a pair of shots at goal, though both of them were blocked. From the resulting corner, Drew Kamienski out-jumped everyone for a header at the back post, but it went just high.
 
In a maddening end to the match, a third defensive mistake, a miscommunication in the penalty area, gave San Diego a final and decisive goal just 10 minutes from full time, putting the comeback out of reach.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Wednesday night's defeat is only the second time in 11 meetings that San Diego has defeated a Tim Vom Steeg-coached Gauchos team, the other coming in 2017.
• The result also extends the spell since Santa Barbara last beat a ranked opponent (then-No. 12 LMU) to 1,467 days.

 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will get another chance to end that spell in their next match, as they travel to No. 10 Marshall for a first-ever meeting with the Herd on Sunday, Sept. 14. Kickoff from Huntington, West Virginia is set for 11 a.m. Pacific Time, and fans can catch all the action from anywhere, live on ESPN+.