Charleston, S.C. – Fifteenth-ranked UC Santa Barbara conceded three goals to Furman on Sunday afternoon, falling 3-0 in the team’s final game of the Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic hosted by the College of Charleston at Blackbaud Stadium.
The loss moved the Gauchos to 1-1 at the conclusion of the season’s first weekend. Furman also stands at 1-1 after dropping a result to Seattle on Friday afternoon.
UCSB outshot the Paladins 12-7 overall in the game, but both teams registered four shots on frame.
Furman opened the game’s scoring in the 40th minute. From the edge of the 18-yard box, defender Eric Steber picked out Bobby Edet with a pass before the forward settled the ball and beat Gauchos keeper Josh McNeely with a shot to the low-right corner.
The Paladins added a pair of late second half goals to lock down the win.
On a 79th minute counter-attack, Furman’s Eli Pinner made a long run through the midfield before launching a shot at the top of the penalty area past McNeely.
Edet scored his second goal of the game in the 87th minute after being played into a one-on-one situation with McNeely off a Lewis Hawke pass.
Senior forward Reed McKenna led the Gauchos with four shots. He, sophomore Nick DePuy, junior Charlie Miller, and freshman Denis Kalamar all recorded a shot on goal, but Furman keeper Sven Lissek stopped all four for his first shutout of the year.
The Gauchos return to Santa Barbara this week to start a home-heavy month of September. Seven of UCSB’s next eight games will be at Harder Stadium, starting with the home opener against Northwestern this Friday, Sept. 5.
