UCSB Men’s Soccer made a statement on Thursday night in Harder Stadium, battling to a hard-fought 1-1 draw with No. 12-ranked Marshall.
The Gauchos (1-0-1), who received three votes in the latest NCAA Men’s Soccer top-25 rankings, will now have a chance to jump into those rankings after two impressive performances to begin the season.
The matchup was a true battle throughout, as Marshall committed 23 total fouls to UCSB’s 17, with a total of nine yellow cards handed out in the seesaw affair.
After some back-and-forth play to begin the night, the Marshall offense made a push into the attacking third and forced back-to-back corner kicks in the 10th and 11th minutes
While the corner kicks were unsuccessful, UCSB senior midfielder Kaden Standish was called for a penalty inside the box and Marshall’s Thiago Apolinario buried the penalty kick for an early 1-0 lead.
The chippiness continued throughout the opening half, as both teams were called for yellow cards in the next seven minutes as the Bison clung to their lead.
The Gauchos finally broke through in the 25th minute on a breakaway play, as junior defender Peleg Brown found sophomore midfielder Steinar Bjornsson behind the defense, who then slotted a pass to senior forward Donovan Sessoms, who netted the equalizer.
Each team had chances to jump ahead before halftime, but the two defenses stood tall and the 1-1 score held into the break.
The physical play continued in the second half with six more yellow cards, including four from Marshall and a pair given to UCSB.
While these yellow cards led to some scoring opportunities, neither defense broke down the stretch and the match ended in a gritty 1-1 draw.
The Gauchos ended the day outshooting the visiting Bison 25-9, with just seven of those shots being on goal compared to Marshall’s five.
