Ledoux nets 2 more goals as UCSB defeats UNLV
UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer team returned home with a bang on Friday night, racing to a convincing 4-1 win over UNLV behind a pair of goals from their fabulous Frenchman, Alexis Ledoux. Eddie Villeda and Kaden Standish added goals themselves for the Gauchos' biggest scoring haul of the young season.
FROM HEAD COACH TIM VOM STEEG
"I mean, we put together another really good game," Vom Steeg said. "I don't think we played necessarily better than we did last week, we were just more efficient in the finishing. We had some nice combination plays and we kept control of the ball …. It's disappointing we didn't get the shutout because it was one of our points of emphasis, but at the same time I made a lot of subs and that kind of messed us up in terms of our marking, but overall very pleased with any college win, especially when you're putting up four goals against any team."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos were more or less in control from start to finish of Friday night's match, controlling 58 percent of the possession, and they paid that off by getting a great chance to score just nine minutes in. Isaiah Barber saw the ball fall to him after a free kick, but put it just wide at the back post.
Ten minutes later, the Gauchos fired a volley of shots toward the Rebel goal, though all five were blocked. The next one would finally be the breakthrough. After winning the ball back at midfield in the 25th minute, Santa Barbara turned on one of their many lightning-quick counterattacks, with Mikkel Goeling playing a long ball over the top of UNLV's defense for Ledoux. The Frenchman took two touches at the top of the penalty area then delivered a cool and confident right-footed finish into the far corner.
Eight minutes later, the Gauchos cashed in another counterattack to double their advantage. This one spanned the entire length of the field, started by Manu Duah winning the ball back near Santa Barbara's own goal line. His outlet pass found Goeling, and the Dane's flicked header landed at the feet of Isaiah Barber, who charged forward. Villeda came with him, and after receiving the pass from Barber, blasted a shot low under the UNLV goalkeeper.
Santa Barbara took that 2-0 lead into halftime, and they built on it shortly after the interval. In the 50th minute, Pablo Figueroa's cross found halftime substitute Filip Basili at the back post, and the junior smartly chose to head the ball back toward the penalty spot. Ledoux arrived and thumped home his second of the night. That score just about wrapped the game up, and Head Coach Tim Vom Steeg was able to rest some of his starters. Standish came on to relieve Ledoux and made the most of his opportunity in the 67th minute. He had to do some work to finish off yet another Gaucho counterattack, taking on a defender one-on-one. Two stepovers later, Standish had created enough space to fire home his first collegiate goal.
The Rebels did get a goal in the 73rd minute, but it was nothing more than consolation for the visitors.
FROM THE STUDENT ATHLETES
Alexis Ledoux on the win: "It's great, especially after that last loss on the road, that was really frustrating, so it was very happy for the boys and the team to be back."
Ledoux on his second goal of the match: "Coach always says 'put numbers in the box,' and that's how I got my goal against Missouri State, so I knew I had to be there," he said. "Good cross from Pablo, Filip gets his head on it, I'm there and just tap it in."
BY THE NUMBERS
With five goals in just four games, Alexis Ledoux has already surpassed his largest single-season goal tally since transferring to UC Santa Barbara. His all-time career-best season was in the spring of 2021, when he scored eight goals for the Division-II University of Charleston.
Eddie Villeda has also set a career high for goals in a season; he notched his second score of 2024 on Friday night to equal his two-goal haul from 2023. More are likely to come now that the junior has moved into a more attacking midfield role this year, rather than his left back role from last year.
Ledoux's brace Friday night was just his second as a Gaucho; both have come in this season's only two home matches. That gives him more goals at Harder Stadium alone than four Big West teams in all of their games so far.
UP NEXT
Santa Barbara has a quick turnaround for their next match, as the Gauchos will be in Stockton on Monday to face Pacific. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Knoles Field, and the match will be live on ESPN+ with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.
(Courtesy of UCSB Athletics)
