University of California, Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer team's persistence paid off on Monday night, as the Gauchos got a late equalizer from Steinar Bjornsson to secure a 1-1 draw with the No. 2 San Diego Toreros at Harder Stadium. It was a deserved result for Santa Barbara, which out-shot San Diego by a margin of 21-11 in the match and is still yet to concede a goal from open play.
 
QUOTABLE
Tim Vom Steeg on his team's performance: "We challenged them at halftime a little bit. I thought we lost a lot of balls in midfield," Vom Steeg said. "They've got some big kids in midfield, so it took us a little while. Jack (Middleton) came in even though he's like the smallest guy on the field, and I thought he helped us out a lot in midfield. He got to a lot of the second balls, which we didn't get to in the first 20 minutes. But in the end, we're now in the second game where we're looking at it going, I mean — Marshall, we hit the underside of the post twice — and this one, you know, we had a couple, I thought great headers that we had looks at and a couple of balls breaking through, um, but it's good. It's a good group. We're going to be right there. And as soon as we start to score more goals, I think we're really going to be hard to beat."
 
Steinar Bjornsson on the impact of getting his first goal of the season: "For the team and you know, for us attackers individually, you know, once you get that, that first goal, and especially if you get it early in the season, you know, it can really open the floodgates," Bjornsson said. "So, I'm hoping this will be the start of, you know, I've got my goal. [So do] Don (Sessoms), Kaden (Standish), so I'm hoping this will be the start of many goals for us attackers.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos will certainly feel hard done by the way they went behind — a penalty kick called when goalkeeper Owen Beninga collided with San Diego's striker while challenging for a cross into the penalty area — especially since Beninga dove the correct way for the second penalty in as many games but again was never going to get a hand on such a well-struck attempt.
 
But to their credit and also for the second game in a row, Santa Barbara responded to their deficit with an immediate surge forward. Three minutes after his team went behind, Kaden Standish got a gilt-edged chance with a header but somehow put it wide of the target. Two minutes after that, Donovan Sessoms thumped a line drive shot, right at the goalkeeper. Another two minutes later, Tobi Gerber had the keeper scrambling back towards his goal as the German lobbed a ball back into the penalty area after a failed clearance, but again it went wide.
 
With the Gauchos rebuffed, the game cooled for almost 20 minutes before Santa Barbara made another surge before halftime. Sessoms looked destined to finish off a flowing counter-attack in the 37^th minute when he cut onto his left foot some 10 yards from goal, but a Torero defender made a crucial block. Then, in the two minutes before the interval, Peleg Brown forced two saves from set pieces, one a free kick that was comfortably caught and the other a corner kick that was punched to safety.
 
It was Brown again when the Gauchos nearly answered their coach's challenge just two minutes after his half-time team talk, with the left back pulling a close-range shot just wide. But like in the first half, the game trended towards stalemate for nearly 20 minutes before bursting to life again shortly after the hour mark. There was another close-range header for Santa Barbara in the 65^th minute, but Kalle Rahbek could not nod the ball far enough around the keeper. Five minutes later, Zac Siebenlist got a close-range opportunity, albeit from a tight angle, but blazed his shot wide.
 
Finally, in the 78^th minute, the Gauchos got their breakthrough. In quick succession, Siebenlist had a shot blocked, then Jakob Methvin, then Bjornsson. When that fourth rebound fell back to Bjornsson, he crushed a low shot through the traffic in the penalty area and into the back of the net for the equalizer.
 
And then, despite having all the momentum and possession in the second half, the Gauchos found themselves defending their newfound parity for much of the final 10 minutes. Beninga had a save to make, though it was relatively routine, but the defense in front of him was scrambling to get the Toreros' way. They had each other's backs, recovering after a miscommunication allowed San Diego to slip in behind in the 85^th minute, and they thanked their lucky stars in the 89^th when it was the Toreros' turn to flick a close-range header wide of goal.
 
UP NEXT
Santa Barbara will look to convert more of their chances into goals as they head out on a three-game road stretch next, starting with a visit to Cornell on Friday, Sept. 4. The Gauchos' next home match is Sept. 17, when they will host San Diego State.