Mike Klan
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Men’s Soccer team bounced back from its opening day disappointment with an always-enjoyable feat on Monday night, winning their home opener. The Gauchos took down Central Arkansas, 2-1, with goals from Buba Fofanah and Zac Siebenlist. In a performance that, while not perfect, was much-improved from Thursday, the offense was able to create good scoring chances early and often, Calle Mollerberg’s move into defensive midfield provided some needed extra stability in that area while Jacob Blach was just as solid in the back line in his stead and Luke Skinner had his first signature moment as Santa Barbara’s goalkeeper, making a superman save to preserve the result.
FROM HEAD COACH TIM VOM STEEG”I always say that the first win of the season is always the hardest, so I was actually kind of proud of the fact that we had to go clear the box a bunch of times and of course, we had a huge save from our goalkeeper,” UC Santa Barbara Head Coach Tim Vom Steeg said. “Look, we won the game, so, positive. Of course, I would say that half of their opportunities came off of our losing the ball in midfield and just giving them things. That’s something we just have to clean up. Again, we’ll take the win, happy for them, we did what we had to do to get it done. At this point in the season, that’s what you have to do.”
HOW IT HAPPENEDAfter taking 82 minutes to generate their first shot on target in the season opener, the Gaucho offense made sure they tested Central Arkansas goalie Javier Ramirez early on Monday night, firing three shots inside the first three and a half minutes, two of which took saving from Ramirez. The Gauchos had two more chances brought back for a player being offside, the latter of which saw Siebenlist put the ball in the Central Arkansas net before the flag went up.
After Santa Barbara spent the first nine minutes attacking, the visitors were able to get off three rapid-fire shots in the 10th minute, one of which was blocked and another of which took saving from Skinner. But the Gauchos never stopped attacking either, as the game became a back-and-forth affair through the first 20 minutes. In the 14th, Steinar Bjornsson was denied by a brilliant save from Ramirez, the Bears’ goalkeeper tipping the Icelandic forward’s driven shot onto the post.
After 26 minutes, Santa Barbara finally turned their pressure into a goal. Thomas Noordegraaf played a perfect pass into the space between the Central Arkansas defense and their goalkeeper, allowing Fofanah to get to the ball just before Ramirez. Fofanah took one touch to round the Bears’ netminder, then another to pass the ball into the open goal for his first score in Blue and Gold. Fofanah played high school soccer at Cate in Carpinteria.
After the goal, the game actually calmed down, with the two teams combining to take just seven shots between Fofanah’s goal and the interval after taking 15 before Fofanah’s score. The problem for the Gauchos is that one of the Bears’ shots in that timeframe found the net, tying the match two minutes before the break.
In an improvement from Thursday’s game, Santa Barbara did not let the visitors turn their late goal into momentum for the second half. The Gauchos took six shots to Central Arkansas’ three in the first 15 minutes after halftime, forcing three saves while Skinner was required to make just one. In the 58th minute, Eddie Villeda nearly gave Santa Barbara the lead back with a wicked strike from the top left corner of the penalty area, but the slicing effort fizzed just over the crossbar.
As it turned out, the Gauchos’ go-ahead goal ended up being much less spectacular and more of a gift. After winning a free kick deep in their own half, Central Arkansas attempted to pass out of the back, with disastrous consequences. Siebenlist was lurking in just the right spot to intercept an under-hit pass toward Ramirez and pass it into the net with just one touch. Siebenlist is from San Luis Obispo.
Santa Barbara attempted to build their lead, with Mollerberg forcing a save in the 69th minute, but shortly afterwards the Gauchos elected to bunker down and use their defensive depth to hang on to the lead. Cole Harris came on in the 70th minute to turn Santa Barbara’s back four into a back five, and they went to work holding down the fort. The defensive group had a key shot block in the 75th minute, then Skinner made a good save to parry away a curving attempt in the 81st. Central Arkansas thought they had another equalizer a minute later when they put home the rebound from another Skinner save, but it was ruled out for offside, a judgement upheld after video review.
The final major moment of the match came in the 87th minute, when a Bear forward was able to chop the ball onto his strong foot at the top of the penalty area and bend a shot toward the top corner, only for Skinner to dive to his right and use every inch of his 6-foot-3 frame to parry the shot harmlessly behind.
BY THE NUMBERSThe win is UC Santa Barbara’s ninth consecutive win following a loss, a streak which dates back to 2023. The Gauchos are unbeaten in their last 14 matches following a loss, and they have not lost two matches in a row since September of 2021.After Monday night’s game, UC Santa Barbara has now opponents from 31 different states at Harder Stadium under Tim Vom Steeg. Only four of those states have not lost to the Gauchos in their home stadium.Buba Fofanah’s goal Monday night was the 19th of his collegiate career, his first as a Gaucho.Another of Santa Barbara’s 16 new players made his debut late in Monday night’s win, with Owen Wall playing the final seven minutes off the bench. He is the 12th Gaucho to make his UC Santa Barbara debut through the team’s first two matches.
UP NEXTThe Gauchos remain home for their next three matches, with a first-ever meeting with North Florida coming up on Thursday, Aug. 28. The Ospreys are the team that defeated Central Arkansas on penalty kicks in last year’s ASUN Championship and, like Central Arkansas, will be the first team from their home state to visit Vom Steeg’s Gauchos. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and tickets are on sale now at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets. Fans can also catch all the action from anywhere live on ESPN+ or follow along with live stats.
(Article courtesy UCSB Athletics).
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