UC Santa Barbara men’s soccer will seek its first win of the season Saturday night in a match against Akron at Harder Stadium. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
The Gauchos are off to a rocky start, going 0-2-2 in their first four matches, including two straight losses.
The team took a big hit before the season started when standout midfielder Kevin Feucht suffered a torn ACL.
The Gauchos broke a three-match goal-less streak in their last match, a 3-1 loss at San Diego State on Monday. Sophomore Ignacio Tellechea scored off a cross to get the Gauchos on the scoreboard.
A winless start through four games isn’t new for UCSB. The last time it happened the Gauchos rebounded and won 10 of their next 11 matches and won the Big West Tournament Championship.
Akron, like UCSB, one of the elite soccer programs in the country, is also off to a slow start. The Zips are 1-2, with both losses coming against ranked opponents (No. 17 Utah Valley and No 3 Denver). In their last match, they beat No. 10 Washington, 2-0, and received votes in the latest national poll.
UCSB lost at Akron, 2-0, when the teams met in Ohio last year.
The Zips won their NCAA College Cup title at Harder Stadium in 2010. The national final four returns to the stadium in 2018.
— Noozhawk intern Shomik Mukherjee can be reached at smukherjee@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.