WESTWOOD — Everything was going as planned for UCSB in the first half of Friday night’s soccer match against UCLA.
The No. 6-ranked Gauchos got a terrific goal from James Kiffe, were moving the ball effectively and defending well against a very good UCLA side. It all added up to a 1-0 lead at Drake Stadium.
But trouble started brewing at halftime. Defensive midfielder Fifi Baiden aggravated a groin injury and was unable to play in the second half.
UCLA’s All-American Kelyn Rowe exploited the hole in the Gaucho midfield and Chandler Hoffman erupted for a second-half hat trick to rally the No. 16 Bruins to a 3-2 victory before 2,965.
The Bruins snapped UCSB’s five-game unbeaten streak to start the season and won their third in a row after starting out 0-2-1. UCSB is now 4-1-1 and UCLA is 3-2-1.
Hoffman’s three goals against the Gauchos give him seven for the season, and he tied a UCLA record by scoring in his fifth straight match. His scoring spoiled a tremendous game from Kiffe, who scored the first goal on a brilliant 22-yard right-footed strike in the 35th minute and set up UCSB’s second when he was fouled while dribbling through the UCLA box in the 73rd minute. Sam Garza converted the penalty kick to make the score 3-2.
The turning point in the game for UCSB came at halftime when Baiden told coach Tim Vom Steeg he couldn’t continue playing.
“The second half I lost Fifi,” Vom Steeg said. “He said (his groin) was kind of strained and felt tight and he couldn’t go. That killed us. I had to change things up at halftime.”
The Gauchos went with Machael David as the lone defensive midfielder and UCLA took full advantage of Baiden’s absence.
“I pulled my groin in practice, so when I came out we went back to our normal one D-mid and it kind of broke down our system,” Baiden said. “That’s what changed the game in the second half.”
The Baiden-David defensive midfield combination has been the key reason the Gauchos have been able to neutralize their opponents in the midfield for the first 5 1/2 matches. Without Baiden in the second half on Friday, Rowe was able to assert himself and Hoffman cashed in.
“Tonight we learned how important Fifi is to our team,” said Kiffe.
UCLA outshot the Gauchos 11-5 in the second half and had a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks — 11-4 for the game.
“The second half the midfield broke down a little bit and we were losing the ball,” said Baiden. “Then again, UCLA, they got good players who can do something with the ball. Giving up balls in the midfield and in the back is kind of dangerous against that team, and that’s what cost us.”
Hoffman scored the equalizer on a pass from Rowe after a UCSB turnover. He chest trapped the ball and beat Gaucho goalkeeper Andre Grandt with a shot to the left corner in the 51st minute.
Hoffman struck again in the 67th minute off a Rowe corner kick that was set up by right fullback Ryan Hollingshead busting into the attack.
UCLA went up 3-1 in the 71st minute when Victor Chavez, going against two Gaucho defenders, crossed the ball to the far post, where Hoffman ran on to it and scored to complete his hat trick.
The Gauchos responded two minutes later when Kiffe dribbled through the box and was tackled. Garza beat UCLA goalkeeper Brian Rowe on the penalty kick to make it a 3-2 game.
UCSB couldn’t score the equalizer in the end and came up empty again at UCLA.
“I think they’re a good side,” Kiffe said of UCLA, “but I think we gave them the game,”
This game showed that Gauchos are starting to miss their injured players.
“In a nutshell, you lose Fifi, you lose (Peter) McGlynn and you don’t (Michael) Nonni it starts to add up,” said Vom Steeg. McGlynn has a sprained ankle and Nonni a strained hamstring.
The Gauchos hope to have them back when they return to action next Friday at home against the University of San Diego.
