SAN LUIS OBISPO — Salvador Aguilar rose to the occasion again for the UCSB men’s soccer team.
The sophomore forward leaped above a Cal Poly defender and headed in Jorge Aldana’s cross with 12 seconds left on the clock to give the Gauchos a heart-stopping 2-1 nonconference victory over the winless Mustangs before 10,392 at Alex G Spanos Stadium.
It was the largest crowd of the 2022 season and 25th largest regular-season crowd in NCAA history.
Last Saturday, Aguilar scored on a spectacular diving header in the 88th minute to give the Gauchos a 2-2 draw with Grand Canyon at Harder Stadium.
His game winner at Cal Poly came seconds after Nate Colley of the Mustangs converted a penalty kick to tie the score at 1-1 in the Blue-Green rivalry opener and improve UCSB’s record to 5-1-2.
With 85 seconds remaining, UCSB goalkeeper Leroy Zeller was whistled for a foul in the penalty area after crashing into Mustangs’ Isak Clausen.
Colley stepped to the penalty spot and shot past Zeller to the delight of the Cal Poly crowd.
But UCSB came right back as Aldana collected a ball knocked wide, dribble past a defender along the right side and crossed the ball in front of the Cal Poly goal. Aguilar leaped above Mustang defender Sebastien Maza and headed the ball down and past goalkeeper Gabe Penner for the game-winner.
The loss dropped Cal Poly to 0-7-0.
CHAVA DOES IT AGAIN!
Just 4⃣ nights after scoring an 88th minute equalizer vs. GCU, Aguilar saves the day at Cal Poly, this time to win it in the 90th min in front of the 25th-largest crowd in NCAA history!
You have to see it to believe it ��
✍️ RECAP: https://t.co/j4VXUw3kCJ pic.twitter.com/Cd7qqDsmcB
— UCSB Men’s Soccer (@UCSBMensSoccer) September 22, 2022
Alexis Ledoux gave UCSB a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute off an assist from Caden Vom Steeg.
UCSB returns home to face fifth-ranked Stanford on Saturday at Harder Stadium.
