SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Steven Ramirez converted a penalty in the 12th minute, and the University of San Diego men's soccer team protected that lead for the next 65 minutes before finishing in a 1-1 draw at unbeaten UC Santa Barbara on Monday night.
Lucca Adams made four saves in goal, and the Toreros were the side pushing for a winner late in front of 1,272 at Meredith Field at Harder Stadium.
Ramirez stepped up in the 12th minute and buried it for the game's opening goal, his team-leading third goal of the season. The lead held through a first half in which the Gauchos outshot San Diego 11-4, the closest call coming as the halftime whistle neared, when a Gaucho strike came back off the woodwork.
UC Santa Barbara finished with 21 shots to San Diego's 11, but only five of them reached Adams — a reflection of how many Torero bodies got in the way first.
Devin Dillon,
Mathias Bauer and
Luca Fava anchored a block that turned most of the Gauchos' looks into blocked shots and wide efforts.
The equalizer finally came in the 78th minute, and it took a scramble to do it. UC Santa Barbara fired three shots in a 12-second sequence before burying the fourth in the 78th.
San Diego answered by taking the game to the Gauchos over the closing stretch. Three of the Toreros' four corner kicks came after the break, Fava forced the UCSB keeper into his only save of the night in the 86th minute, and Bauer had a great look at goal with a header in the closing minute that went just wide. Freshman
Wyatt Marin made his career debut, entering in the 27th minute and playing 18 minutes.
UP NEXT
The Toreros stay on the road this weekend as they head to Riverside to take on Cal Baptist on Saturday, Sept. 5. Kickoff at CBU Soccer Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m.
