Just before Wednesday’s shootout at Harder Stadium, Gaucho goalkeeper Kristopher Minton motioned to the 3,601 fans to make some noise. They enthusiastically obliged, having just been treated to 110 minutes of intense play that resulted in a 2-2 draw against rival Cal Poly in the Big West semifinals.
So scream they did, getting even louder when freshman Michael Tetteh closed out a UCSB men’s soccer 4-3 shootout victory over Cal Poly to advance to the conference finals against UC Irvine on Saturday.
Minton fed off the crowd’s energy, stopping the first two Cal Poly kicks and giving the Gauchos a huge boost while inciting the crowd into a frenzy.
“I loved it. I absolutely loved it,” said Minton of having the fans, who had shifted from midfield to behind the south goal, at his back. “Having the fans right behind the goal could have just intimidated the other team but at the same time it got me pumped up and ready to go.”
After Minton’s two stops, three consecutive Cal Poly makes and a failed attempt by UCSB’s Jon Curry brought the shootout to a 3-3 tie — only Tetteh remained. Leading-scorer Chris Pontius had scored the first, Nick Perera the second and Alfonso Motagalvan the third for UCSB.
“I think we’re a very good PK-taking team,” said UCSB head coach Tim Vom Steeg. “I like to put my best shooters first. It sets the precedent because you get off to a good start.”
Tetteh, a native of Ghana who played high-school soccer at Dunn School in Los Olivosz, learned he would be taking the final shot of the shootout after the final overtime. When it was his time, the left-footer confidently delivered the ball to the back of the net, causing the fired-up student section to empty the seats and pour onto the field in celebration.
“Oh my God, I’ve been waiting so long for this,” gasped Tetteh with fans still swirling around offering their spastic congratulations. “I’ve waited so long for this opportunity. I’m just really happy, oh my God.”
Perera came up big in another big game for the Gauchos, scoring two second-half goals that briefly put UCSB on top 2-1 before Patrick Sigler equalized in the 77th minute for the Mustangs.
The Mustangs had UCSB on the ropes at one point, taking a 1-0 advantage into halftime. Julian Alverez scored for the Mustangs in the 15th minute on one of only two shots in the half for Cal Poly.
For the game, the Gauchos outshot Cal Poly 30-8.
Early in the second half, Perera and the Gauchos were ignited by a non-call take-down of Pontius that reminded the whole team of recent bad breaks from Big West officiating crews.
“You have a conference now that has three teams in the top-25, certainly Cal Poly is not far being on that list. The only thing that has not caught up is the refereeing,” pleaded Vom Steeg after reeling off a series of game-changing calls made by officials this season.
Vom Steeg wasn’t the only one upset with the officiating. A Cal Poly assistant coach was yellow-carded for arguing in the second overtime. Six cards were handed out in all.
It’s all water under the bridge as far as the Big West Tournament goes. The Gauchos move on to face UC Irvine in the championship game on Saturday before learning their NCAA Tournament draw on Monday.
