Luis Silva was playing with a heavy heart in the UCSB men’s soccer season opener Tuesday night. In the wee hours of the morning, he learned that his grandmother passed away.
The steady sophomore midfielder suited up and played and the Gauchos were sure glad he did. Silva set up two first-half goals with some nifty assists and turned in a solid performance at the defensive end to lead them to a 3-1 victory over Cal State Bakersfield before 2,267 fans at Harder Stadium.
Freshman Michael Nonni scored his second goal of the game in the 89th minute to secure the victory for the 10th-ranked Gauchos. Martin Hedevag also scored for UCSB.
Silva said he had no doubts about playing Tuesday.
“It was tough, but I played it for her, just remembering she’s looking down from heaven. I dedicated this game to her,” he said of his grandmother Consuelo Aquino.
UCSB coach Tim Vom Steeg said the team knew late last week that Silva’s grandmother was in poor health and he gave the player time off so he could be with his family.
His return to the field was a big boost for the team. Not only did he contribute at the offensive end, he also made his presence felt on the backline after Hedevag went down with an ankle injury early in the second half.
“Silva was by far the man of the match for us,” said Vom Steeg. “Martin goes down, and we’re kind of thin in the back, and Silva plays like he’s been playing back there, which he never has, really.”
Vom Steeg noted that Silva is of the kind who can play anywhere on the field without the team suffering. “He epitomizes a soccer player,” the coach said.
Silva’s first assist came after a corner kick from Danny Barrera. Standing at the top left corner of the penalty area, Silva nodded a lofting ball to Hedevag, who flicked a header past Bakersfield goalkeeper Eric Shannon for a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute.
Three minutes later, Silva and Barrera combined again. This time, Silva back-heeled a pass to Barerra across the top of the box and Barrera fed the ball to Michael Nonni, who finished with a blast into the upper right corner of the goal.
The Gauchos were flying at the start of the game and had plenty of chances to blow the game open. Nonni missed a couple of quality opportunities and David Walker had point-blank header saved by Shannon.
“I thought we came out the first 20 minutes and that was as good as it gets,” Vom Steeg said. “I mean it was explosive and it was all over, the chances were great.”
After dodging several bullets, Bakersfield caught the Gauchos out of position and got a goal back in the 37th minute on a penalty kick by Oscar Coppieters. The kick was awarded after Hedevag was whistled for fouling Evan Fassler in the box as Fassler ran in on goal.
The PK spoiled a solid night of goalkeeping by junior college transfer Sam Hayden. He was sure handed, fearless and displayed good command of the penalty area.
“He’s clean and he catches balls,” said Vom Steeg.
The game turned chippy in the second half as the teams combined for a total of 22 fouls in the last 45 minutes.
Nonni put an exclamation point on the victory with an outstanding individual effort in the final minute. He charged up the right side, cut inside and tucked his shot away.
Opening night wasn’t without its hitches. The most glaring was the UCSB uniforms — there were no numbers on the back side.
Vom Steeg said the faux pas happened when a memo apparently didn’t get out to Bakersfield to inform it that UCSB wears blue uniforms at home. Bakersfield brought only its blue uniforms to Harder Stadium, leaving the Gauchos in quandry. UCSB didn’t have any white uniforms on hand because they were at the print shop having the numbers stenciled on.
The unfinished uniforms were retrieved from the print shot and the game went on.
(photo by Alexis Lezin – PresidioSports.com)
