SACRAMENTO – Sophomore UC Santa Barbara forward and reigning National Player of the Week Nick DePuy scored yet another two goals in the squad’s regular season finale at Sacramento State on Wednesday afternoon, clinching for the Gauchos an outright North Division title and the Big West regular season championship by virtue of a 2-1 victory at Hornet Stadium.
After the Gauchos fell behind 1-0 in the first half, DePuy scored on a header in the 79th minute to level the score before tucking home a rebound in overtime for the golden goal. The Irvine, Calif. native’s performance helped the team wrap up the ninth Big West Championship (eight regular season, one tournament) in head coach Tim Vom Steeg’s tenure.
The brace was a continuation of an unreal run of form for DePuy, who has scored UCSB’s last six goals while recording the game-winning or game-tying goal in four straight. He now leads the entire Big West Conference in game-winning goals with six and ranks second in total goals with 10, the first Gaucho to reach double-digits since Luis Silva had 17 in 2011.
The team (10-6-3, 6-2-2 Big West) as a whole reached double-digits as well, as they secured a season of 10 or more wins for the 14th consecutive campaign, by far the longest streak in the Big West Conference. The Gauchos will enter the postseason on a season-best five game unbeaten streak.
Needing a win or tie to definitively clinch a spot in the Big West Tournament, Sacramento State (6-10-3, 4-5-1) appeared well on their way to a postseason berth when Javier Munoz got the Hornets on the board in the 34th minute with his first goal of the season. Taking advantage on a set piece, the Sac St. defender got his head on an Andre Garcia free kick, redirecting off the post and past UCSB keeper Brandon Berke to go ahead.
The Gauchos began to take over the run of play in the second half, outshooting the opposition 9-4 with a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Freshman holding midfielder Ryo Fujii provided the service on UCSB’s late equalizer, finding DePuy with a chip into the box. DePuy headed to the far upper corner, finally capitalizing on a prolific offensive effort that saw the 6-4 target record a game-high seven shots. The typically efficient DePuy put six of his attempts on frame.
With the conference crown in sight, UCSB wasted no time in pushing across the golden goal once overtime started.
Just four minutes into extra time, senior forward Reed McKenna soundly connected on an 18-yard strike, forcing a diving stop from Hornets keeper Phillip Bru. The prone Bru surrendered a rebound, which came to a pouncing DePuy at the goal mouth before being tucked away.
It was DePuy’s ninth goal in 12 appearances since being moved up top from the midfield.
Berke made one save for the Gauchos on the day, improving to 8-3-2. Though he was done no favors by the woodwork on the Hornets opener, his bad luck eventually evened out as what would have been a go-ahead goal from Paul Geyer in the 88th minute clanged off the post.
Bru was heavily tested by UCSB, having to make nine stops in the contest.
In a development perhaps just as important as the win, the Gauchos – who had multiple players enter the match on four yellows, meaning an automatic suspension would be applied on their next booking – went through the entire match without receiving a caution. Thus the team will enter the postseason, where the first suspension doesn’t occur until a player is issued his eight yellow card, out of relative danger of losing a player to card accumulation.
Fortunately for Sacramento State, an overtime win by UC Davis over Cal Poly means that the Hornets still earn a berth into the Big West Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the North Division.
The postseason fates of UC Santa Barbara and Sac St. may yet be intertwined. This Saturday, The Hornets will take on whichever team ends up as the No. 2 seed in the South Division in the Big West Quarterfinals, with the winner of that contest heading to Harder Stadium on the night of Wednesday, Nov. 12 for the Conference Semifinals. With just three points separating first place UC Irvine from last place CSUN before tonight’s finales, scenarios exist for all four teams in the South to finish as the No. 2 seed.
