UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara men’s soccer team started the 2024 season in style, defeating the Missouri State Bears, who received votes in the United Soccer Coaches’ preseason poll. Alexis Ledoux scored two goals and had an assist to bolster the offense in the Gauchos’ 3-1 victory, while David Mitzner was unlucky not to be rewarded for his goaltending effort with a clean sheet.
Nicolas Willumsen was Santa Barbara’s other goal scorer, benefiting from Ledoux’s assist. Nemo Philipp, Peleg Brown and Isaiah Barber also each had an assist on the night, a first for Brown and Barber.
BY HEAD COACH TIM VON STEEG
“Mitzner made some great saves in the first half, which is what we need, and then we just had great (performances) from start to finish,” Vom Steeg said. “Overall, I wish we hadn’t conceded a goal because I think we deserved it, but we’ll take it.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos had their first chance to score after just five minutes. Philipp’s cross found Barber in the box, but the sophomore’s header went too high. On the other side, Missouri State’s high pressure created a few chances for the visitors, but Santa Barbara’s defense fended them both off. First it was Brown who blocked a through ball, then it was Mitzner who saved two shots, making his first two of five saves on the night.
The Gauchos’ next chance of the night came in the 17th minute and Ledoux took advantage. Andrew Kamienski initiated the flow of play by playing a long pass along the ground that a Bear defender ran. Philipp, playing on the right wing, sneaked behind him and kept the ball in play before playing a cross to the back post where Brown was waiting. The Gauchos’ left defender played a pass in front of goal himself and Ledoux arrived and fired in from 10 yards out.
Philipp and Brown both had more shots on goal, but neither of them caused the keeper any problems, and then it was Mitzner’s turn. He made his best save of the night in the 24th minute, sticking out his right foot in a one-on-one situation to block a shot from the Bears’ leading scorer. Eight minutes later, he quickly bent over to prevent a header from a corner kick.
In the final seconds of the first half, Brown forced the Bears goalkeeper to make another save, but the Gauchos went into halftime with just a one-goal lead.
The visitors almost scored again in the first three minutes of the second half, but it was Mitzner again who bent well and saved the ball. That save would prove crucial as neither team could create another real chance until the hour mark, when the Bears shot wide from close range after a loose ball in the box. The Gauchos avoided disaster in the 71st minute by blocking a sloppy back pass before an onrushing Missouri State attacker could fire it into a largely empty net.
Santa Barbara finally got some breathing room in the 79th minute by switching from defense to attack. Barber won the ball deep in his own half and played a pass to Ledoux, who dribbled past a man and then found Willumsen. The big Dane outran his defender, touched the ball three times and then thundered at the near post from about 20 yards out.
The Bears were able to cut into their lead by taking advantage of a hard cross that bounced off a Gaucho defender and putting the ball in the net, but the Gauchos had the last laugh. As Missouri State pushed forward in the final minute, Ledoux and Barber applied pressure on the only Bears defender and goalkeeper left behind. Barber won the ball with a great tackle, leaving Ledoux one-on-one with the goalkeeper on the edge of the box. The Frenchman kept his cool and fired the ball into the far corner to seal the result.
FROM THE STUDENT-ATHLETES
Alexis Ledoux on the team’s performance in the win: “I think it was a team effort,” Ledoux said. “We knew going into this game that we had to take everything out of them. Missouri State is a team that covers the field and gets on you, so if you’re not ready, you’re not going to get everything. I think the main thing was that we overwhelmed them and stayed with it the whole game, and that leads to goals.”
On the game-winning goal: “I think the coaches wanted me to stay, but I don’t know, I just had a gut feeling that I had to go,” Ledoux said. “I see Isaiah coming with me and I think, ‘Oh my God, if something comes out of this, that’s good.’ Isaiah gets the ball on his foot and I have a chance to put it in the net.”
IN NUMBERS
Thursday night’s win was the Gauchos’ first in a season opener since their 7-1 victory over San Diego in 2021; it was Missouri State’s first loss in a season opener since 2017. The Gauchos are now 18-3-4 overall in season openers under head coach Tim Vom Steeg.
Four Gauchos made their debut in Santa Barbara on Thursday evening: Calle Mollerberg, Manu Duah and Peleg Brown in the starting lineup and Ocean Salari on the bench.
Santa Barbara’s forwards were on form Thursday night, with the Gauchos putting seven of their nine shots on goal, their best accuracy since a 5-1 win over Utah Valley in September 2022.
Next
Santa Barbara will next head to the Midwest for two games, visiting Kansas City on Aug. 29 and Oral Roberts in Tulsa on Sept. 1. The Gauchos’ next home game is Sept. 6 when they host UNLV.
(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics)
