Ledoux strikes twice in two minutes to lead UCSB past UCSD in Big West opener

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Alexis Ledoux scored two goals in two minutes to turn a surprise deficit into a well-earned lead for the No. 22 UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer team on Wednesday night. The Gauchos' French phenom scored the game-tying and game-winning goals just 65 seconds apart, and Zac Siebenlist scored his first career goal later on to secure a 3-1 come-from-behind victory over UC San Diego.

FROM HEAD COACH TIM VOM STEEG
"The second half was a result of a lot of the work in the first half, and it's a win that we need to have, but I also feel like it's a credit to the group," Vom Steeg said. "At halftime we didn't panic, we stayed with the gameplan, and the guys got rewarded for it."

"Look, you saw how we finished the last 15 minutes of that half. We should have scored in that 43rd minute, the ball got deflected on the way in, keeper stuck his right hand out and saved it, we had another couple of opportunities right at the end, I mean we were knocking. So, the question in the locker room, it was unfortunate that we had to stop for 15 minutes, so what to do was figure out a way to go right back to what we were doing. We didn't have to change anything, we just had to up our energy and our effort. It was one of those games where everything we were looking for, we were getting. We just messed up on the first goal, didn't get it done, and it put us in the box a little bit."

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos were indeed unlucky to concede the game's opening goal. Not only was it from a counterattack, against the run of play, but it only happened because of a bounce. Andrew Kamienski had kicked a pass away from one Triton attacker, but another was right on the scene to put the deflection in the back of the net in the sixth minute of play.

Still, Santa Barbara had more of the ball in the first 15 minutes, and their momentum only grew as the first half went on. Siebenlist had the ball fall to him after a corner kick in the 18th minute but put his shot wide, and shortly afterwards Kaden Standish was denied by an inch-perfect tackle by a UC San Diego defender after Manu Duah's equally perfect pass had put Standish through on goal.

As the Tritons sat back in their low block, with nearly all 11 players in their defensive third of the field, the Gauchos continued to chip away and probe for opportunities as the clock ticked toward 30 minutes, though the only shot on target was a long-range effort from Peleg Brown, which was comfortably held by the Triton goalkeeper.

Nemo Philipp wove some magic in the 36th minute to break down the defense, dancing his way past five or six defenders in the penalty area before firing a shot with his left foot, but it was only an inch or two the wrong side of the near post. Next it was Nicolas Willumsen's turn to be frustrated, another stellar slide tackle keeping the big Dane from unleashing a shot. Shortly after that, in the 40th minute, Ledoux saw his long-range drive deflect just wide off of a UC San Diego defender. And, in the 44th minute, it was Philipp being denied by an amazing save by the Triton keeper. Philipp's low, driven shot kicked up off of a defender's foot, and it was only UC San Diego netminder Nolan Premack's right hand that kept it from finding the back of the net.

After the Gauchos had spent much of the first half knocking on the door, Ledoux finally kicked it down just five minutes into the second half. His first goal was a beautiful team goal, started by Brown. The left back played a ball from the midfield stripe over the Triton backline for Philipp to run onto. The German then pulled it back for Ramses Martinez running into the penalty area, and Martinez fizzed a pass to Willumsen just above the penalty spot. With his back to goal, Willumsen played the ball back to Ledoux, teeing the Frenchman up perfectly to smash it in off the far post from 18 yards out.

Just over a minute later, it was Willumsen and Ledoux combining again, though this one was less a piece of art and more a smash-and-grab art heist. Ledoux was dispossessed after Philipp had played him through on goal, but the defender's clearance bounced off of Willumsen's shin and right back to Ledoux, who finished into the bottom left corner.

The Gauchos thought they had a third goal just eight minutes after Ledoux's second, in the 59th minute, when Eddie Villeda put the ball in the back of the net, but that was called back for offside.

With the Tritons coming out of their low block to try and rescue a result, the Gauchos had more freedom in the attacking half, but they also had more defending to do, and Kamienski made a great block in the 72nd minute, knocking a shot wide of goal after a scramble in the penalty area.

Siebenlist then provided the insurance score in the 77th minute. The freshman was in the right place at the right time to cash in after Filip Basili's long-range shot was blocked. The deflection fell at Siebenlist's feet, and he chipped it into the top right corner for his first (official) score in the Blue and Gold. He nearly got his second right after, with Basili playing a pass that sent Siebenlist through on a 50-yard run with no one but the keeper between him and the net. Unfortunately, the keeper denied the rookie his brace.

At the other end of the pitch, the Gauchos needed to make one more big defensive play to hold onto the result, and Calle Mollerberg was the one to provide it. After a Triton attacker had gotten around goalkeeper David Mitzner on a breakaway, Mollerberg had managed to track back and get in front of the otherwise open goal and blocked the shot.

FROM THE STUDENT ATHLETES
Calle on Wednesday night's game and his confidence: I'd say my confidence is already pretty high from my teammates, they give me a lot of appreciation, help and support. It was a tough game, a good game, and obviously a lot of good moments but some bad, but we're just going to have to live with that and get better."

Alexis on his goalscoring form and role as the team's focal point: Well, I've been lucky enough to get some good shots off at home, and obviously the boys know it too, so if they keep feeding me, I'll try to keep delivering. Right now it's working, (I) just have to keep that up."

BY THE NUMBERS
With Wednesday night's win, the Gauchos extend their record to a perfect 13-0-0 under Coach Tim Vom Steeg when playing the first conference game of the year at Harder Stadium, having scored 33 goals to just seven allowed in those 13 wins.
With his brace on Wednesday, Alexis Ledoux brings his conference-leading goal total up to nine on the year. He has scored two goals in three of Santa Barbara's five home matches so far.
Zac Siebenlist scored his first official goal on Wednesday night; he scored twice in the Gauchos' exhibition match against Westmont in what was his first ever action in the Blue and Gold.

UP NEXT
UC Santa Barbara will look to carry momentum from this win into Sunday afternoon's nationally televised clash with Cal Poly at Harder Stadium. Kickoff in the second leg of the Blue-Green Rivalry is set for 4 p.m. on Sunday, with the game set to be broadcast on ESPNU. The Gauchos aim to continue the trend of Blue-Green Rivalry games being the most attended match in college soccer every year; Santa Barbara needs a crowd of 10,000 to take the crown this season.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics)