LAS VEGAS — The UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer team snapped its three-game losing streak on Thursday, though not exactly in the way they would have liked. The Gauchos out-shot UNLV, 27-8, but the match finished in a scoreless draw as the evening belonged to the goalkeepers. Santa Barbara forced seven saves from Rebel netminder Hugo Lemos, while Gaucho keeper Owen Beninga made three stops to earn a clean sheet on his collegiate soccer debut.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After lightning in the area pushed kickoff back to 8:45 p.m., the first 15 minutes of action provided a preview for the remainder of the evening, as Santa Barbara enjoyed the majority of the possession and the chances, with UNLV sitting deep and attempting to break out with long balls over top of the defense, a strategy that provided little joy as the hosts managed just three shots, only one of which was on target, in the first half while the Gauchos put up 16, seven of which took saving by either the Rebels' goalkeeper or defense.
 
In the 20^th minute, Jacob Blach was in the right place at the right time to poke a ball goalwards after it had pinballed its way through defenders in the penalty area, but his shot was pushed aside from point-blank range. Three minutes later, he was showing off his speed on the defensive end, chasing down a Rebel forward who was trying to get to one of their long balls over the top. Despite his opponent having a five-yard head start, Blach won the race. With the majority of UNLV's chances looking similar to that, the only save Beninga had to make in the first 45 was straightforward, a tame effort right at him.
 
Back in the action at the other end, the Gauchos had another gilt-edged chance in the 32^nd minute when a corner kick got over everyone and to Haruki Utsumi at the back post, but again Lemos was able to recover and make a point-blank stop. He was at it again in the 42^nd minute to deny Buba Fofanah when the Gaucho forward got the ball and time to set himself 12 yards from goal, and the score stayed at nil-nil.
 
The hosts' best attacking period was the five minutes right after halftime, which was when Beninga made his finest save of the evening. Less than a minute into the second half, the Rebels got a free kick about 25 yards from goal and put a shot on frame that would have dipped under the crossbar and into the top corner, if not for Beninga. The freshman launched every inch of his 6-foot-4 frame across the goal and nudged the shot over the bar. The defense took care of the two ensuing corner kicks, and then the Gauchos were back in control of the match.
 
Santa Barbara spent basically a full 10 minutes with the ball in and around UNLV's penalty area, from the 50^th minute to the hour mark, firing five shots, three of which were blocked, and earning three corner kicks. The best attempt from that spell came off the foot of Ethan Senter; Fofanah played a smart pass to set the Hawaiian up at the top of the penalty arc, but he put his shot just over the bar.
 
Following that stretch, the game returned to the flow of the first half, with the Gauchos spending most of their time with the ball and UNLV offering limited threats. Beninga took command in the air to punch away a free kick and catch the follow-up cross in the 76^th minute, and the counterattack he started from there nearly ended up in a goal, with Mateos Carvalho being denied in a one-on-one situation at the other end of the pitch. That ended up being Santa Barbara's last shot on goal of the evening.
 
Beninga's final action came in the 88^th minute, as he came off his line well to smother a Rebel chance off a breakaway, which would go down as the hosts' last real chance to make a mark on the scoreboard.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Thanks to his work on Thursday, Beninga becomes the first Gaucho goalkeeper to record a clean sheet on his debut since Ben Roach did it against St. John's on opening night 2018. Between Roach and Beninga, four other goalkeepers debuted in the Blue and Gold.
• The Gauchos' 27 shots at goal are the most they have launched in a single game since Aug. 30, 2019, when they took 28. The opponent that night? UNLV.
• Thursday night's draw moves the Gauchos' record to 6-0-1 against UNLV since 1999, the most games Santa Barbara has played against an opponent without defeat in that span.

 UP NEXT
After over two weeks away, the Gauchos will return home on Sunday, Sept. 21 to host Grand Canyon as part of UC Santa Barbara's Welcome Weekend. Kickoff from Harder Stadium is set for 7 p.m.