It wasn’t a scoring explosion, but UCSB managed to match its goal total for the season Friday and got a strong game from goalkeeper Sam Hayden to knock off No. 6-ranked Harvard 2-0 for its first win of the season at the Lobo Classic in New Mexico.
Joe Eubanks and David Opoku scored the goals as the Gauchos finally broke into the win column after an 0-2-2 start.
Harvard, suffering its first loss, is 2-1-1.
“We needed a win,” UCSB coach Tim Vom Steeg said. “It was a money off our back. None of these teams go easier for us, so we had to go fight through it and win here.”
Eubanks, a junior forward who has been plagued with knee problems, scored off a cross from Sam Garza in the 43rd minute. It was his only shot of the game.
Before the goal, the Gauchos missed on several opportunities. Sam Garza twice went in one-on-one with the goalkeeper and came up empty, and Chris Hunter had a shot go off the post.
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It was an all-too-familiar sight for Vom Steeg.
“Thirty minutes into the game we’re like: ’Is anybody going to score,’ he said. “I decided to put Joe in because he had been training well this week.”
The Gauchos strung together a nice sequence of passes through the midfield before the ball ended up at the feet of Garza. As two defenders ran at him, Garza slid the ball across to Eubanks who beat the goalkeeper Justin Harms one-on-one for a 1-0 lead.
It marked the first time this season the Gauchos scored the first goal in a match.
“The key to the game was we got ahead,” Vom Steeg said. “When you get ahead in the game, a team like (Harvard) has to come out and attack.”
The cohesion between Michael Boxall and Hunter was a little off on the UCSB back line, but Hayden made up for it with his solid play.
“Sam had his best game of the season,” said Vom Steeg, who noted the goalkeeper was especially good at coming out and intercepting long passes into the box.
Hayden was credited with five saves.
The Gauchos put the game away in the 86th minute when Opoku scored his first collegiate goal. He got the ball, faked left, cut right and buried his shot from the top of the 6-yard box.
Vom Steeg said the key now is to see if the team can build off the win when it plays Buffalo on Sunday.
