DAVIS — The No. 17 UCSB men’s soccer team guaranteed itself a home match to open the Big West Tournament on Wednesday when they played to a 0-0 tie after 110 minutes against No. 11 UC Davis.
The Gauchos, who end the regular season with a 10-5-3 overall record and a 5-2-3 mark in the Big West, will have to await the end of the UC Irvine-Cal State Northridge match later Saturday to determine where they stand and who they will play.
If UCI wins, they will gain the No. 1 seed in the four-team Big West Tournament and UCSB will be seeded No. 2. If Cal State Northridge wins, then the Gauchos are also the No. 2 seed. In both of these scenarios UCSB would host Cal Poly. If Irvine and CSUN tie, then the Gauchos will be the regular-season champs and be the No. 1 seed, hosting UC Davis on Wednesday.
At Aggie Field on Saturday, however, the Gauchos couldn’t score for the second straight game. Despite outshooting UC Davis 17-8 – including five shots on goal to three – UCSB couldn’t find the back of the net after tying Cal Poly earlier this week after playing two overtimes then as well.
It is the first time the Gauchos have been shut out in consecutive matches since Sept. 23 and 27, 2006.
In a foul-marred match that featured 47 total fouls and eight total yellow cards, the Gauchos had to settle for a tie with the Aggies, whom they could be hosting again on Wednesday.
Goalkeeper Kristopher Minton recorded his third shutout of the season by making three saves.
Senior Chris Pontius led the Gauchos in shots with six, including three on goal, but UC Davis goalkeeper Ryan McCowan had four saves.
UCSB held Big West goal-scoring leader Quincy Amarikwa in check as the senior forward had just one shot on the day. In the two teams’ previous meeting, Amarikwa scored both goals in a 2-0 victory. That loss ended the Gauchos’ goal-scoring streak at 31 consecutive games, which had been the longest active run in the country.
UCSB outshot the Aggies 10-2 in the first period and then 3-1 in the first overtime. The Gauchos have not scored since Peter McGlynn’s first-half goal last Saturday against UC Irvine in a 3-1 defeat.
