The UC Santa Barbara men’s soccer team played against Sacramento State on Wednesday, Oct. 22. The Gauchos beat the Hornets 2-0, clinching them a spot in the Big West Championship tournament. 

To start the match, the Hornets were set back in a defensively focused formation. The Gauchos took this as a sign to stay on the ball and attack. They did just that and more, controlling the ball for the majority of the match and creating multiple opportunities to score, totalling a whopping 25 shots in this game.  

“The big change for them was they came out with five defenders, something we hadn’t seen from them all year, and with the five defenders you’ve got no choice but to drop in … so that’s why it was really important to finally get that first goal, especially in the first half,” UCSB Head Coach Tim Vom Steeg said.

The first goal from UCSB came at minute 26. Freshman forward Steinar Bjornsson found himself with the ball in space and fired a shot that snuck through the opposing goalkeepers legs, putting the Gauchos up 1-0. UCSB continued to maintain possession of the ball and put many more shots on the goal to no avail until the whistle blew for halftime.

After the half, there were no changes in the tide of the game for UCSB. The next time the ball found the net came at minute 59 when graduate midfielder Thomas Noordegraaf played a pass to senior forward Nicolas Willumsen, who took a shot that found the net in the bottom corner of the goal for his first of the season. This made the score 2-0 in favor of the Gauchos.

The Gaucho defense held strong to close out the game for a final score of 2-0, making them undefeated in their last 10 matches. This was the Gauchos eighth shutout performance and fourth multi-goal performance this season. 

The UC Santa Barbara men’s soccer team is set to play Cal State Northridge next on Saturday, Nov. 1.