Fifth-ranked UCSB fell behind by two goals within the first 20 minutes and wound up suffering its first men’s soccer loss of the season, 4-2 against No. 19 Butler on Friday at the Akron Tournament in Ohio.
The Gauchos are 4-1-0 while the Bulldogs improve to 3-0-1.
Butler opened the game in the best way possible, with Mitch Ostrowski knocking in a rebound of a David Goldsmith shot to go up 1-0 in just the second minute.
After a flurry of offense from both teams, the Bulldogs went up 2-0 when Lewis Suddick was able to score off a set piece at the 18:00 mark.
Junior forward Ahinga Selemani and freshman midfielder Daniel Amo both found the back of the net in the second half to earn their second goals of the season, but by then it was too late.
After the halftime break, the Gauchos worked hard to get back into the game, and that effort paid off when Selemani – who had a team-best and career-high six shots in the contest – brought back a goal just 62 seconds into the second half.
Unfortunately for the Gauchos, Butler’s Goldsmith would play spoiler on two occasions in the second half. He re-established his squad’s two-goal advantage by heading home an Isaac Galliford header in the 53rd minute. Then after Amo’s tally in the 61st – featuring a nice move in the box and a good finish past keeper Eric Dick – Goldsmith beat Le Roux 1-v-1 in the 72nd to put the game on ice.
UCSB will look to rebound on Monday evening against host Akron, facing the Zips at 4:30 p.m. PDT.