Courtesy of UCSB Athletics

The number 25 National Collegiate Athletic Association ranked UC Santa Barbara men’s soccer team arrived at UC Irvine’s Anteater Stadium on Oct. 12, hungry to score and ready for a win after their past two games resulted in a tie. They showed up and played hard, beating the Anteaters with a final score of 1-0.  

The Anteater Stadium has proven to be a bit of a tough atmosphere for the Gauchos as this is their first away game win against Irvine since 2015, putting their record at 8-2-3 for the season. The UCI crowd and team brought a surge of intensity, making for a rowdy environment on the field and putting the referees to work. This game yielded a total of nine yellow cards: five for UCSB four for UCI. 

The Gauchos came in with a clear game plan to maintain possession of the ball and attack aggressively when opportunities presented themselves. UCI was at a clear disadvantage to start the game because all three of their rostered goalkeepers were out with two injuries and one with a game suspension from a red card. They were forced to substitute a player with no prior experience at the position. This caused the Anteaters to start the game in a more defensive playstyle, staying within their own half of the field and relying on the counter attack. UCSB saw this as an opportunity to turn up the heat and put the keeper to the test with long strikes at the goal throughout the game. 

From the start of the game to the halftime whistle, UCSB remained on the attacking side as they dominated possession of the ball. Senior forward Alexis Ledoux, who was flashy throughout and showed impressive ball control in this game, was the first to directly attack the UCI goalkeeper with a shot in the 15th minute, provoking an unexpected but skillfully performed diving save from the inexperienced keeper. 

The Gauchos remained aggressive with eight total shots in the first half, while the Anteaters only had two. The whistle blew at halftime, with a bit of a frustrating score for UCSB, leaving the field tied at 0-0 despite many attempts to put the ball in the back of the net. 

Head Coach Tim Vom Steeg commented on the Gauchos’ performance after the game. “We certainly need to convert more of our chances, but with our defense playing the way it is right now, we will take the 1-0 road Big West Conference win,” Vom Steeg said. 

Coming out of the half motivated to capitalize on the success of the aggressive offense, the Gauchos did not take long in doing so. In the 51st minute, senior defender Caden Vom Steeg sent a long ball that bounced off of the UCI defense and fell into the lap of junior forward Nicolas Willumsen at the top of the penalty box. Willumsen took a first touch shot that was perfectly placed low and into the left post of the goal out of the keeper’s reach, putting UCSB up 1-0 and securing Willumsen his third goal of the season.

After this goal, both teams’ strategies visibly shifted as UCI picked up the pressure in search of a tying goal and UCSB dropped back to defend for the remainder of the game, capitalizing on space and shot opportunities up field when possible. Though the Anteaters picked up the intensity on offense, this UCSB defense — that has much improved from last season — held UCI to just three shots and a scoreless second half in order to secure the win. UCSB still outshot UCI in the second half with nine shots making the game total of 17 shots to UCSB and five for UCI. The Gauchos headed home happy as they ended the two-game away series with a shutout win.

As of Oct. 13, UCSB is ranked No. 25 in NCAA, and is set to take on UC Davis on Oct. 16 at home in Harder Stadium in another conference matchup. 

A version of this article appeared in the Oct. 17 print edition of the Daily Nexus.