It was going to take something special by UCSB to beat red-hot Cal Poly goalkeeper Patrick McLain on Tuesday night.
Sam Garza and Luis Silva delivered for the Gauchos with a pair of goals of high quality.
Garza struck a sizzling long-range shot for the first goal and Silva combined with Machael David on a nifty two-touch play at the top of the box with 51 seconds left in regulation to give UCSB a dramatic 2-1 Big West soccer victory over the Mustangs before 6,057 fans at Harder Stadium.
It was the third straight win for UCSB, which improves to 6-3-2 and 3-1-0 in the Big West. Cal Poly drops to 4-5-2, 1-2-1.
Silva’s game-winner was a huge relief for the Gauchos. With a big intersectional matchup with No. 19-ranked Duke on national TV on Friday, the last thing they needed was to go to overtime.
The sequence that led to the goal was special. Silva fed the ball to David at the top of the penalty area, ran through and received a return pass from the midfielder and beat a charging McLain with a low shot inside the left post.
David credited the goal to the special bond he and Silva have — they are roommates.
“Luis is my roommate, so we know how to play,” said David. “He knows my mind, I know his mind; wherever I am, he knows where I am and I know where he is; he’s the only player who can read me very well.”
David said once he got the ball from Silva there was no question he was going to give it back. He just waited for the defenders to converge on him.
“He knew I was going give him the ball, so he waited,” David said of Silva. “I dribbled and then gave him a through ball and he made a great finish. It was unbelievable, it was amazing.”
Said Silva of the goal: “I poked it away from the defender, had a 1-on-1 (with the goalkeeper), picked a side and put it away.
“We know how we play,” he added about his connection with David. “We like to knock the ball and that’s what we did on the goal.”
Garza gave UCSB a 1-0 lead in the 51st minute on a brilliant strike from 23 yards. Garza got the ball from Silva after a Cal Poly turnover, dribble up the left side and hit a right-footed laser shot into the upper right corner, out of the reach of McLain, who denied the Gauchos in the first half with some outstanding saves.
“Oh my God, that was an amazing goal,” said Luis of Garza’s pinpoint shot.
Luis Silva gets ready to put away the winning goal (Vince Agapito photo).
Garza’s finish wowed Coach Tim Vom Steeg.
“That goal by Garza … I thought the other one was good, that one, I don’t know if it was better. It was equally as good and equally as important.”
It was an important goal for Garza, who struggled with his shot in the first few matches but is now shooting the ball with much more confidence.
“It’s a special goal for me and a special goal for my team,” said Garza, who leads the team with five goals.
Cal Poly tied the score in the 77th minute on a nice piece of work between midfielder Tim White and defender Cameron Walters. White dribbled the ball up the right flank and passed a diagonal ball back to Walters, who beat Gaucho goalkeeper Eric Reyes from 18 yards.
“On that one play they scored on, we got lazy and they took advantage of it,” said Silva.
The Gauchos would quickly regroup and come right at the Mustangs, who have lost their last two matches in the last two minutes.
“It’s a painful way to lose the game,” a somber Cal Poly coach Paul Holocher said. His team gave up a goal in the 88th minute and lost to UC Irvine on Saturday. “To have it happen again is a problem. It’s been addressed, but obviously we have to take that extra precaution to be sharp late in the games.
“It’s a painful lesson, We’re either going to learn from it or have problems.”
Vom Steeg was impressed how his team responded after conceding the goal in the 77th minute.
“What I like best about this team is when we give up a goal we pick up the intensity and come back after it,” he said. “I really like that quality about this team and that’s a quality that will take us far.”
The Gauchos created ample opportunities to blow the Mustangs out in the first half. But McLain kept the game scoreless with his stellar play between the posts. He barely got his hands on a 30-yard blast from Silva in the 32nd minute. In the 43rd minute, he dived and threw his arm out to deflect a fine individual effort by David Opoku deep in the penalty area.
“He made some terrific saves in the first half,” Holocher said. “You can’t fault him on the two goals Santa Barbara scored. The first goal that Garza scored was truly a world-class finish.”
McLain made six saves in the first half and finished with 11 for the game. The Gauchos outshot Cal Poly 18-11, with 13 shots on goal.
UCSB improved its all-time record against the Mustangs to 41-13-5.
