UCSB played a man down for the final 11 minutes of regulation and through 20 minutes of overtime and came away with a scoreless draw at Cal State Fullerton in a Big West men’s soccer match on Sunday night.
The third-ranked Gauchos controlled the majority of the possession and outshot the Titans 17-9, but they couldn’t get a goal against an opponent that sat back and played for the counterattack.
Fullerton goalkeeper Robbie Hannon made five saves on the night. The Titans, which beat the Gauchos at home last season, are 4-7-1 and 0-1-1 in the Big West.
UCSB went down a man in the 79th minute when central defender Daniel Welsh was shown a red card and ejected from the match. With Peter Schmetz already out with a hip injury, the Gauchos had to put together a patchwork defense.
The defense and goalkeeper Austin Mansker were rarely tested. Mansker made two saves and posted his fourth shutout.
UCSB outshot the Titans 17-9.
After the first weekend of conference play, UCSB (7-0-3) is second in the Big West North Division behind Sacramento State, which handed losses to both UC Irvine and Cal State Northridge. The Gauchos and Hornets are the only conference teams to remain unscathed through the first weekend of league contests.
The Gauchos return home on Friday night to take on defending Big West champion UC Irvine.
