Gauchos advance to Big West Tournament final with double-overtime win
UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - It took every last ounce of grit and resilience the Gauchos had in them, but after 110 minutes of play in Saturday night's Big West Tournament Semifinals, the No. 2 seed UC Santa Barbara men's soccer team celebrated a hard-fought 2-1 victory over No. 3 UC Irvine to move on to the Big West Championship game for the third straight season.
The game-winning goal came on a dangerous cross from the wing by sophomore right back Caden Vom Steeg in the 109th minute, first taking a flick off the head of midfielder Lucas Gonzalez and then off the shoulder of an Anteater defender before squeezing inside the far post.
Santa Barbara (10-3-6) will now get a chance to repeat as Big West Tournament champions with a trip to No. 1 UC Riverside next Saturday, Nov. 12.
HOW IT HAPPENED
As one of the Big West's top-two seeds, UCSB came out of its quarterfinal round bye with fresh legs, but that didn't translate to early success in a rather sluggish start to the match. Alexis Ledoux was back in the starting lineup for the second straight game after missing five October contests due to injury and was clearly not 100 percent. The Gauchos were also missing starting central defensive midfielder and All-Big West First Team selection Sam Fletcher, who picked up his fifth yellow card in UCSB's regular season finale.
UCSB 1, UC Irvine 0 – Nemo Philipp 28'
As he has been all year, Nemo Philipp was a bright spot in the Gaucho midfield. He registered UCSB's first shot on target in the 24th minute that was saved in front of goal by a UCI defender. In a first half slowed down by numerous fouls, Philipp's dazzling dribbling would earn him a free kick from about 23 yards out as the clock approached 27 minutes. He stepped up to take it himself, and the result was another classic left-footed beauty from the German native, who fired a stunning curler into the top right corner of the goal to open the scoring.
Two-time Big West Defensive Player of the Year Henry Davies was unsurprisingly one of the best players on the pitch all night long, putting in the reliable work on both sides of the field that Gaucho fans have become quite accustomed to. He appeared as if out of nowhere on an attack in the 42nd minute, nearly doubling the Gauchos' lead while forcing a good save from UCI keeper Luke Pruter.
UCSB 1, UC Irvine 1 – Robert Mejia 57' (F. Montanile)
Coming out of halftime, the Anteaters began to dominate possession as the entire mood of the match seemed to shift. Irvine would outshoot UCSB 12-0 over the second 45-minute period, putting four shots on target. The visitors finally equalized in the 57th minute, when a cross from the left side by Francesco Montanile found Robert Mejia for a neatly placed header against his momentum inside the right post.
Another UCI attack five minutes later led to a shot by midfielder Samuel Atiye from the edge of the box, but goalkeeper Leroy Zeller stretched out to make one of his five second half saves – and his best of the night – to keep things tied 1-1.
A controversial moment in the 78th minute saw Caden Vom Steeg play Ledoux in behind the Anteater defense. Ledoux appeared to be taken down in the box as he made his move to the by line, but much to the dismay of the Gaucho faithful, UCSB was only awarded a corner.
The match went to overtime, forcing the Gauchos to go the full 110 minutes for the first time since last year's postseason. Exhaustion crept in on both sides and players began to cramp up all over the field.
UCSB 2, UC Irvine 1 – Anteater Own Goal
With the game seemingly headed to penalty kicks, some great hustle by sophomore midfielder Salaudeen Ayinla gave the Gauchos possession in their attacking third. Ledoux sent it out wide to Vom Steeg, who played a good ball into the box. Gonzalez was there to flick a header from 11 yards out, and as Finn Ballard McBride battled to get in position, it instead deflected off an Anteater and took an incredibly fortuitous bounce past the desperation save attempt from Pruter.
With less than 90 seconds to send men forward, UCI ran out of time, and Zeller registered his final save in the closing moments on a soft header before clearing it away as time expired.
The Gauchos now move on to the Big West Championship game for the eighth time since the tournament's inception in 2008. After falling to the Anteaters in their first four Big West Tournament meetings, UCSB has now beaten them in two straight years.
For the second straight November, UCSB needed overtime to decide its Big West Tournament Semfinal, and once again, Nemo Philipp was the lone Gaucho goalscorer.
NEXT UP
Next Saturday, the Gauchos will head to Riverside to face the Highlanders for the second time in two weeks. UCR won the regular season finale 4-1, scoring more goals against UCSB than it had given up in all of its previous Big West outings combined. With a win, the Gauchos would join UC Irvine (2008-09) and Cal State Fullerton (2014-15) as the only repeat champions in Big West Tournament history.
The championship match is set for 7:00 p.m. next Saturday, Nov. 12 at UCR Soccer Stadium.
(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics)
