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DAVIS, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara men's soccer team (6-3-2, 2-0-0 Big West) earned its fourth result in a row and completed a perfect first week in Big West Conference play with a 4-1 victory over UC Davis on Saturday afternoon at Aggie Soccer Field.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• UC Davis scored first as Grant Fidler crossed in a ball from the right wing, connecting with Andy Velasquez who headed it in in the fifth minute.
• The Gauchos had an opportunity to respond late in the first half when freshman forward Salvador Aguilar earned a penalty call after getting tripped up by UC Davis goalkeeper Derrek Chan, but the spot-kick from sophomore midfielder Nemo Philipp was saved by Chan in the 42^nd minute.
• The miss was rendered moot just over a minute later, when freshman defensive midfielder Jared Vom Steeg played Philipp through to the endline, where the German held up the play before drawing Chan out and slotting a pass to Aguilar, who tapped it into the open net for the equalizer.

Salvador Aguilar tied the game up right before halftime with a tap-in!#GoGauchos pic.twitter.com/FuDZMcD7hS

— UCSB Men's Soccer (@UCSBMensSoccer) October 2, 2021

• The Gauchos took the lead in the 72^nd minute after senior forward Ameyawu Muntari sent a free kick into the penalty area from the left wing, where it was met by Jared Vom Steeg who flicked it on to the back post, where junior center back Henry Davies smashed it home on his right foot to score his first career Division I goal.

Ameyawu Muntari fired in a free kick and Jared Vom Steeg flicked it to the back post to get @davies_henry his first career @NCAASoccer Division I goal!#GoGauchos pic.twitter.com/qXOReBCKN6

— UCSB Men's Soccer (@UCSBMensSoccer) October 2, 2021

• The final two UCSB goals were both scored via penalties, with sophomore attacker Finn Ballard McBride and Muntari scoring their sixth and fourth goals of the season, respectively.

The Gauchos sealed it with another penalty kick in the 86th minute, with Ameyawu Muntari burying it for his fourth goal of the season.#GoGauchos pic.twitter.com/4DSnsw2qSA

— UCSB Men's Soccer (@UCSBMensSoccer) October 2, 2021

NOTABLE

• The win is the Gauchos' fifth result when playing from behind. This was the eighth time this season in which their opponent scored first.
• The 10 goals scored in the past three games are just three less than the Gauchos' total of 13 scored over the course of the other eight games this season.

QUOTABLE

• "Anytime you win any game on the road it's a challenge, and we've had our share of nightmares here at UC Davis." – UCSB head coach Tim Vom Steeg on the victory
• "I thought both teams had to go into their bench really early, because it was intense with the heat and both teams were running hard. Our bench is as deep as I've ever had it and I think it made the difference." – Tim Vom Steeg on the advantage that the UCSB squad's depth provided throughout the game

UP NEXT

• UCSB returns home to face UC Irvine on Wednesday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Live stats will be available on UCSBGauchos.com and the game will be live streamed on the UCSB Gauchos Stretch Internet portal, with the "Voice of the Gauchos" Gerry Fall on play-by-play.

Install the new UCSB Gaucho Gameday app on your smartphone for exclusive UCSB coverage all season long. Now available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

UCSB is moving to mobile ticketing beginning this season. For more information, click here.