DAVIS — UCSB provided a valiant effort in keeping UC Davis off the board on Saturday afternoon after losing a man to a second yellow card just minutes into the second half, but the Aggies were eventually able to exploit the advantage by scoring a 107th minute golden goal and claiming a 1-0 win.
The Gauchos (6-6-2, 2-2-1 Big West) and Aggies (5-1-8, 3-1-1) were just minutes away from a draw, which would have given the latter an NCAA-tying ninth tie of the season. However, UCD’s Lucas Mohageg spoiled those plans with a dead-ball goal late in the second overtime period.
After the Aggies earned a free kick just on the UCSB side of the halfway line, Ryan Gross stepped up and sent a long ball into the box towards Mohageg, who got his head on it and sent it inside the left post.
The late tally spoiled brilliant efforts by UCSB keeper Brandon Berke and the Gaucho defense. Berke made the save of the game in the 76th minute, when he made a sprawling, diving stop of an Eddie Manella drive. UCD’s Ian Palmer had a golden opportunity off that shot’s rebound, but his shot went just wide of the post.
The turning point of the match came in the 51st minute after junior center back Brandon Brockway was issued a second yellow card, rendering the Gauchos down a man for the rest of the match.
Despite the disadvantage, the Gauchos had a few good looks at goal.
Just after the sending off, sophomore winger Ismaila Jome broke into the box from the right side and launched a curler to the far post, but the effort missed the post by inches.
Sophomore defender Drew Murphy recorded UCSB’s only post-first half shot on frame in the 95th minute, but UCD keeper Armando Quezada made one of his two saves on the day to preserve the clean sheet. On the other side, Berke matched a career-high with five saves.
Overall, the Aggies outshot the Gauchos by a count of 15-8, including a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal. Davis had nine corners compared to UCSB’s two.
With Nick DePuy out, Jome led the offensive efforts for the Gauchos, tallying a team-high four shots.
Having finished a season-long four game road trip, UCSB will return to Harder Stadium next week to host Sacramento State on Wednesday and Cal Poly on Saturday night. The latter will be broadcasted live on Fox Sports Prime Ticket, with a scheduled 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
