Not much has been getting past the UCSB men’s soccer team defense these days. In fact, standout goalkeeper Leroy Zeller has recorded clean sheets throughout conference play.
That streak was extended Wednesday night, as the Gauchos picked up their sixth straight shutout, a 3-0 verdict over UC Davis at Harder Stadium that gave them solo possession of first place in the Big West.
With the win, the Gauchos improve to 9-4-2 overall while sporting an undefeated conference record of 4-0-2 (14 points). They have played one less game due to last Saturday night’s postponement at UC Irvine due to lightning.
The Aggies fell to 4-7-4 overall and a Big West record of 3-2-2 (11 points).
“This was a really important game,” UCSB coach Tim Vom Steeg said of Wednesday’s win against at Davis team that was tied for the top spot. “There are three or four of us are all sitting at the top of this conference, but more importantly for us, tonight is most likely the last night of us having five of our top guys out,” UCSB coach Tim Vom Steeg said after the game.”
The starters who have been out of the lineup include Salvador “Chava” Aguilar (season-ending knee injury), Nemo Phillip (3-game red-card suspsension) and Alexis Ledoux (injury).
“When we lost Chava, what we lost was goalscoring. Then we lost Nemo (Phillip) and we lost Alexis (Ledoux) and then, as has been the case for the whole conference, it’s been Leroy and our defense that has made the difference,” said Vom Steeg.
Zeller had another outstanding performance Wednesday, picking up six saves, which ties his season high, and made numerous plays that could have turned into chances for UC Davis.
Since the start of conference play, Zeller has allowed zero goals and made 24 saves in six games. The senior has earned seven clean sheets this season, most in the conference, and has allowed just 11 goals with 51 saves.
“In these moments, you just have to focus on what you’re good at, and just try to do our best every game and go from game to game,” said Zeller. “That’s all I have been doing and what the team has been doing and here’s how you have to do it otherwise you get lost,” Zeller said.
“Getting these shutouts in conference play has helped a lot with confidence. But still, one bad counterattack could lead to a goal, so you have to be humble about it.”
Vom Steeg said he is proud of his team’s accomplishment, reaching six straight clean sheets for the first time since 2004, the same year the Gauchos earned a No. 1 national ranking.
“It’s no small feat,” Vom Steeg said.
“We know this is what is going to keep us going. Don’t give up a goal, we hope to get another shutout Saturday and keep going from there.”
On the offensive side, Finn Ballard McBride continues stepping up the plate for the Gauchos. The junior forward added another two goals to his stat sheet Wednesday, now leading the team with 10 on the season, seven of which have been scored over the last six games.
His first goal of the contest came in the 15th minute, as the junior was in the right place at the right time, heading a centering pass from Rigoberto Barragan to the left corner, inside the post to give his team the early advantage,
That was the only score of the first half.
UC Davis got off just one shot on goal in the first half, but the Aggies got off five shots on goal in the second 45 minutes.
Zeller was aided by Gaucho offense netting an insurance goal early in the second half.
In the 47th minute, the Gauchos made a collection of beautiful passes, capped off by Ballard McBride finding Thaabit Baartman on a backside run. The senior midfielder then passed it off to Lucas Gonzalez, who patatiently made his way to the left side of the box and fired off a shot once UC Davis’ keeper had committed a bit too far.
That allowed Gonzalez to fire a shot across the keeper’s face for the finish.
“It’s definitely a big relief to go up 2-0 and the team is doing well,” said Zeller. “But then if they score one goal they are right back in the game again. That happened last year and we learned from it.”
The Gauchos final goal came in the 74th minute, as Ballard McBride was in the right place at the right time, collecting what would have been a save from the Aggies’ keeper in the box and slotting it past the UCD defense to give his team a 3-0 lead.
“The key for us has been our offense because when we lost all those guys offensively, we didn’t score against Fullerton and we didn’t score against Bakersfield, so we had to change something up, we had to do something different,” Vom Steeg said.
“Part of that was to give up a little bit on our defense, which hasn’t happened yet, but it meant having three more guys up front.”
Wednesday’s game featured seven players who played at area high schools and played their youth club soccer with the Santa Barbara Soccer Club. The UCSB players are Jared and Caden Vom Steeg (San Marcos High) and Rene Pacheco (Dunn School). UC Davis featured Cason and Luke Goodman (Santa Barbara High) and Scott Buie and Hayden Carlson (Dos Pueblos).
UCSB’s final home contest of the regular season is Saturday at 7 p.m. when the Gauchos take on their Blue-Green Rival Cal Poly.
