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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The remarkable season by the Wofford men’s soccer team ended on Thursday night with a 1-0 loss to UC Santa Barbara at Harder Stadium in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Gauchos scored the game-winner with seven minutes left in the second half.
Wofford ends the season 12-3-3 overall. Santa Barbara moves to 16-4-2 and advance in the NCAA Tournament to face San Diego on Sunday. The Gauchos outshot the Terriers 15-4 in the second half and had a 16-6 advantage in the game.
In the first half, the Terriers controlled the pace of the game. Wofford had the first shot of the game at 24:47 when Yakov Rubinchik had a shot go high. Off a corner from Branson Hyatt, Nick Schuermann took a shot that was wide at 31:11. The first shot by the Gauchos came at 32:12 by Josue Madueno. With under two minutes to play in the half, Kentrel Owens made a run, but was unable to get a shot off. Wofford had two shots to only one in the first 45 minutes by the Gauchos.
To open the second half, the Gauchos had three corner kicks in the first two minutes and five shots in the first ten minutes as they picked up the intensity. Wofford countered when Wilson Hood took a shot that hit the post at 58:09. Andrew Eppelsheimer had a shot that was saved a minute later off a corner by Branson Hyatt.
The Gauchos kept up the offensive attack with the next six shots. Wilson Hood had a header go wide right at 75:21 off a corner. UC Santa Barbara finally broke through when David Walker scored at 83:49 in the second half. Michael Tetteh crossed the ball to Michael Boxall, who headed it to Walker for a shot from ten yards out. Wofford was able to get one more shot on goal at 87:58 by Yakov Rubinchik, but the Gauchos held on for the win.
For Wofford, Thomas Hunter had three saves and one goal against in goal. Sam Hayden recorded his 15th shutout of the season with two saves. UC Santa Barbara had eight corners to three for Wofford. The Terriers were called for nine fouls, including a yellow card to Nick Schuermann at 83:15, while the Gauchos had seven fouls.
Wofford ends the season with 12 wins, the best mark in school history as a NCAA Division I team. It was the first time the Terriers won the Southern Conference and also the first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
POST GAME QUOTES
Ralph Polson - Wofford Head Coach:
"The game was not the statement I'd like to make. UCSB is one of the best teams we've seen. But let's talk about our team. I started 22 months ago, and last year we only won a couple of conference games. This year we had lofty goals: we had our first ever winning record. We wanted to win the Southern Conference and get the automatic bid.
"In the first half of tonight's game I thought we had the better of the play. We had to make adjustments before the game - this was the first time we played against a 3-5-2 formation all season."
On their defensive effort:
"We have pressed teams all season, we try to take them out of their game."
Wilson Hood on his cross hitting the bar:
"I tried to drive the ball across the box, and the defender [Pontius] just barely headed it back. I thought it was going in - I actually started celebrating a little early - but unfortunately it hit the crossbar."
On goalkeeper Thomas Hunter's eye goggles:
(quote by coach Polson) "He picked up an eye infection after our conference tournament. It was bad enough that it forced him to fly into Santa Barbara just 5 hours before the match. Doctors could not clear him to wear his contact lenses. The goggles he picked up from Charlotte didn't fit, so they sent the prescription to a Santa Barbara optometrist who made them here.
