SAN DIEGO – No. 25 San Diego men's soccer scored two goals in the second half to erase a first-half deficit, but it surrendered a goal in the 68th minute that helped result in a 2-2 tie against UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday at Torero Stadium.
 
Both sides combined for 32 shots in the 110 minutes of action, but USD (7-1-1) made use of its three shots on goal in the second half with goals by Ross Meldrum (49') and Freddy Polzer (54'). UC Santa Barbara (6-2-2), meanwhile, had four saves on the Toreros' six shots on goal, including a crucial one on a Meldrum attempt in the second overtime.
 
The two goals in the second half continued the trend for the Toreros as now 14 of their 16 goals scored this year have occurred in the second half of a game.
 
"We didn't feel like we played badly in the first half, but we knew we needed to up the tempo," said USD head coach Brian Quinn. "We got the quick start to the second half with the two goals in a 10-minute period. It was enjoyable game in many ways because it was back-and-forth."
 
The tie was the first of the season for USD as it remains unbeaten in eight of its nine games this season.
 
"The pleasing part for me is (UC Santa Barbara) is a legitimate team," added Quinn. "I watched the tape of them against Stanford (who they tied 3-3 on Saturday), and they were every bit as good as Stanford who was the number one team in the country."
 
Trailing by a goal after the first 45 minutes, the Toreros came out of halftime by creating early pressure with the Meldrum goal in the 49th minute. The junior midfielder put back a rebound to even the game at 1-1.
 
The attack continued in the 54th minute when a ball was slid into the goal area, where it wound up for a Miguel Berry shot that was blocked. However, the block created a loose ball that found Polzer, who was wide open in the middle of the penalty area and punched it home to make it 2-1 Toreros.
 
The advantage was erased 14 minutes later when Rodney Michael ran past a USD defender in a one-on-one opportunity on the right side and drilled it short side past USD goalkeeper Matt Wiher to make it 2-2.
 
The Gauchos grabbed the early lead on an Ameyawu Muntari goal in the 39th minute. After receiving a pass from Thibault Candia, Muntari worked the ball slightly towards the middle and took a shot from eight yards outside the penalty area to lob it over a diving Wiher and into the upper left corner.
 
The overtime period was started by UC Santa Barbara staging threats, but USD had the lone shot on goal when Meldrum's shot was punched over the crossbar in the 104th minute.
 
The Toreros continue their lead-up to conference play when they travel to West Virginia on Friday for a 4 p.m. PT match.