No. 6 UCSB’s two first half goals was all it needed to capture a win over Cal State Fullerton during Saturday night’s Big West Conference match at Meredith Field at Harder Stadium. Gauchos Waid Ibrahim and David Walker scored within 10 minutes of each other to give UCSB the 2-0 victory.
With the win, UCSB improves to 11-3-1 on the season, surpassing its total number of wins from the 2008 campaign. The Gauchos are now 5-2-0 in Big West play and continue to be tied with Cal Poly for the league lead with 14 points. Fullerton falls to 7-7-2 overall and 3-3-1 in conference games.
The Gauchos controlled possession of the ball during most of the first half and out-shot the Titans 3-1 in the opening 20 minutes of the game before Ibrahim got UCSB on the board in the 25th minute.
Walker sent a diagonal pass from the left side of the field to Ibrahim who split two defenders and fired a shot from about 18-yards out for what would prove to be the game-winning goal.
Less than 10 minutes later, Machael David sent a pass from midfield to Walker, who was streaking down the right field line. Walker then beat Fullerton goalkeeper Trevor Whiddon one-on-one with a shot to the lower left hand corner of the Titan goal stretching the Gaucho lead to 2-0.
The Titans out-shot the Gauchos 8-6 in the second half, but none of the attempts proved to be a real threat to the UCSB lead with just two coming on-frame.
“I thought we played a very, very good first half,” said head coach Tim Vom Steeg. “We followed direction very well. We created some very good opportunities and had two good finishes. We also did a great job in stopping a team that is very good offensively.”
Walker led all players with five shots during the game, including three on-goal. His goal marked the sixth of the season for the senior, putting him in the team lead. His assist was his third. Ibrahim tallied three shots during the win, all on-frame. His goal was his fourth of the year.
In the goal, Sam Hayden posted his ninth shutout of the season while tallying five saves. He is now tied fourth with Kyle Reynish in the UCSB record book for single season shutouts.
Fullerton goalkeeper Trevor Whiddon also tallied a handful of saves for the Titans. Oscar Aguero and Mario Alvarez led Fullerton with three shots apiece.
