UCSB soccer coach Tim Vom Steeg was ticked off, and not only because the Gauchos had just lost 3-1 to UC Irvine (10-1-6, 3-1-4) at Harder Stadium.
He was also ticked because of a call that the two-time NCAA Coach of the Year described as “inexcusable”.
UCSB’s David Walker made a stellar run in the 22nd minute, and was grabbed by the shirt and held by an Irvine defender near the top of the box.
“It’s an automatic red card. There’s not even a conversation,” said a flabbergasted Vom Steeg. “If anything, it’s a red card and a penalty kick.”
Instead, the referee booked the Anteater defender with a yellow card and awarded the Gauchos a free kick at the top of the box, which meant that the visitors were allowed to set up a wall.
Gaucho assistant Greg Wilson made an interesting case to a Big West official after the game.
“Greg’s point was that if you’re not going to give us the red card or the PK, then you might as well let him keep running,” said Vom Steeg. “At least let him get into the ball and try to shoot it. That’s better than a free kick.”
The Gauchos (10-5-2, 5-2-1) had a 1-0 lead at that point after Peter McGlynn scored from 35 yards out on a low screamer in the sixth minute. Luis Silva and Chris Pontius assisted on the play.
“It’s a game-changing momentum play right there. Because what happens is you don’t get the 2-0. You don’t get the red card, and then you turn around and give up a goal… And then there’s a big thud,” said Vom Steeg.
Sure enough, Irving Garcia found the net about 10 minutes later on a cross from Kevin Santora to even the score, and Gray Bailey blasted one in off of a Carlos Aguilar free kick four minutes after that, just a few minutes before halftime.
Thud.
UCSB came out flat in the second half, allowing what was once a 6-1 advantage on shots taken end up a 6-11 deficit. the frustration continued to mount as the game went along, and Alfonso Motagalvan displayed it in the waning minutes.
Motagalvan was awaiting the ball for a throw-in, but Irvine’s Spencer Thompson held on to it a few seconds longer than he should have in what looked like a bit of a taunt towards Motagalvan. The Gaucho senior promptly shoved Thompson flat on his back to the ground, but no booking was given.
Instead, Thompson scored on a chip shot a minute later and thumped his chest at the UCSB crowd.
“We didn’t play well in the second half, and we went back once again to guys trying to do too much on their own… We’re good enough to beat any team, but on any given night we can lose to any team,” said Vom Steeg.
Sophomore forward Bongomin Otti described the loss as “frustrating,” particularly because of the momentum his team had coming into Saturday night.
“It was a bad game, especially against a UC Irvine team that we had beaten before. We were on a 4-game winning streak, but we just didn’t have the energy we had against Northridge (on Wednesday),” he said.
The Gauchos are still atop the Big West, but need to win out to assure the conference title. Next up is Wednesday’s home game against Cal Poly in which UCSB will try to break the attendance record for attendance at a regular-season NCAA men’s soccer match.
They’ll need 12,226 to accomplish that goal.
