The good news about UCSB’s soccer match against UCLA was the Gauchos went toe-to-toe with the No. 2-ranked team in the country.
The bad news for the Gauchos was they couldn’t find the back of the net and allowed Bruins All-American Leo Stolz to get free on one play. Stolz made them pay as he buried a left-footed blast from 20 yards, and that was enough to beat UCSB, 1-0, before 5,104 at Harder Stadium.
Stolz picked off a clearance by Gaucho defender Kevin Garcia-Lopez, took and couple of dribbles and ripped a shot past goalkeeper Josh McNeely in the 38th minute. That was one of the few dangerous chance by the Bruins (4-1-2), who came into Santa Barbara on a two-match scoreless drought.
UCSB’s defense played probably its best match of the season. The Gauchos (2-3-1) worked hard at disrupting the Bruins’ attack. UCLA had a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks, but UCSB rose to the challenge and didn’t allow anything off set pieces.
The Gauchos’ best chance at scoring came before the UCLA goal. In the 21st minute, forward Ludwig Ahl split two defenders on the dribble and delivered a beautiful through ball into the path of Axel Mendez. Mendez fired a shot that pinged off the right post. He chased down his rebound on the left side and fired another shot that hit the left post.
“It was a result that could have gone either way,” said UCSB head coach Tim Vom Steeg. “If either one of Axel’s shot are an inch the other way, or if Stolz doesn’t bury a left-footed half-volley from outside the box, we could be having a different conversation right now.”
Vom Steeg expressed his frustration over the team’s failure to cash in on the opportunities they create.
“We have one reoccurring theme which is we’re not completely committed to getting a goal,” he said. “When it’s all said and done, when Drew (Murphy) picks up the ball with his left foot there should be three guys running through that box. When Ludwig or Axel get the ball and I’m a forward I’d start running, because chances are they might find me. It’s still like, ‘Once the ball is kicked, I’ll react.’
“It doesn’t take away from the fact I thought our guys played really hard. I thought we had a great spell for 25 minutes. We hit the post, we didn’t get rewarded with the goal.”
Vom Steeg said another shortcoming has been a big save from the goalkeeper.
“We’re the only team in college soccer at this point that hasn’t gotten a save. I need one save and I haven’t gotten it. (Stolz’s ball) is a tough shot, but at the end of the day this is a Division 1 college game between two good teams and somebody has to make a save. We all know the difference between winning and losing is a save and we haven’t gotten it.”
The Gaucho backline had a good match. Paul Ehmann and Brandon Brockway were especially tough playing against some dangerous UCLA attackers.
“It’s definitely frustrating because we thought we had it,” Brockway said. “That game was definitely there for the win and we let it slip away.”
