#22 UCSB wins at Utah Valley in men’s soccer
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The No. 22 UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer team scored early and often on their first-ever trip to Utah, tallying two goals in the first 10 minutes and going on to a 4-1 win against previously unbeaten Utah Valley. Nemo Philipp, Alexis Ledoux, Filip Basili and Nicolas Willumsen each provided a goal.
FROM HEAD COACH TIM VOM STEEG
"Overall a very good game against an undefeated team that was ready to play tonight," Vom Steeg said. "Credit to our players for following the game plan and for their execution especially on the offensive end."
HOW IT HAPPENED
It took less than five minutes for Santa Barbara to get on the board Thursday night, as Philipp capitalized on a Wolverine mistake for the opening goal. What was meant as a pass back to the goalkeeper instead acted as the perfect through ball for Philipp, and the German kept his composure to roll the ball past the keeper one-on-one. Six minutes later, the Gauchos doubled their advantage through Ledoux. The Frenchman set up Mikkel Goeling at the top of the penalty area, but Goeling's shot clanged off the post. Ledoux was in the perfect position to collect the rebound, and he was able to tap home his sixth goal of the season.
Santa Barbara kept that two-goal lead at the half, but they could have had even more. The players were certainly in the mood to score, and the Gauchos out-shot Utah Valley, 8-3, in the first half.
The shooting numbers flipped after halftime, but that did not stop Santa Barbara from tacking on two more goals. Utah Valley took six shots in the second 45, including a penalty kick which they missed, but the Gauchos were efficient and put two of their three second-half shots in the back of the net. It started with Basili getting back to his Wolverine-haunting ways in the 55th minute. The midfielder, who tallied one of Santa Barbara's five goals in this matchup last year, finished off a counterattack after a pinpoint pass from Eddie Villeda. The Norwegian chipped his shot over the Wolverines' keeper and despite the goalie getting a hand to it, he could not keep Basili's shot out.
Basili then added an assist to his haul in the 64th minute, helping set up Willumsen for the Gauchos' fourth and final score. It was his cross into the box that found Peleg Brown, and it was Brown's smart play to control the ball in a way that left it perfectly on a platter for Willumsen. The Dane accepted the invitation to smash the ball into the back of the net.
Santa Barbara then spent the final 25 minutes of action withstanding the Wolverines' attempts to conjure a miracle. While the Gaucho defense did bend and concede a goal in the 84th minute, it would have taken a breakage of catastrophic proportions for the result to be anything but a win.
BY THE NUMBERS
Thursday night's four-goal haul is tied for the Gauchos' most this season, the other being their 4-1 victory against UNLV earlier this month, but it is the fewest goals they have ever scored against Utah Valley, having tallied five in each of the last two meetings.
After dazzling with a two-goal game against Westmont on Saturday, Zac Siebenlist made his official Gaucho debut on Thursday, playing 30 minutes off the bench. His one shot of the evening was blocked.
UP NEXT
UC Santa Barbara returns home on Sunday to host Portland at Harder Stadium. Kickoff against the Pilots is scheduled for 7 p.m. The match will be live on ESPN+ with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.
(Article courtesy of UCSB)
