Davidson College
No. 13 UC Santa Barbara
Sanders Preserves 2-2 Draw with No. 13 UCSB
9/11/2010 1:34:57 AM | Men's Soccer
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Davidson men's soccer junior defender Greg Macnamara's second-career goal proved to be the final equalizer as junior goalkeeper Chip Sanders made a career-high 10 saves to preserve a 2-2 double-overtime draw with No. 13 UC Santa Barbara in front of 2,728 fans on a foggy Friday night in Harder Stadium.
“It was a tremendous result for the team and the program,” said Davidson head coach Matt Spear. “The Gauchos are recent national champions and an extremely talented team that is looking to get back to the College Cup this season.”
Macnamara (Arlington, Va.) tied the match with 20 minutes remaining in regulation off a set piece. Fellow team captain, senior Alex Caskey (Dunwoody, Ga.), sent a free kick on goal, and Macnamara was there to knock the rebound in for the goal. After being outshot by the Wildcats (2-0-2) 10-6 in the second half, UCSB (0-2-2) fired nine shots during the two, 10-minute overtime frames to Davidson's one, with six coming in the second OT period. Sanders (Thomasville, Ga.) came through though and made four saves in overtime to keep UCSB from taking the victory late.
“When you try to win a game on the road against a high caliber, highly motivated team like UCSB, your goalkeeper has to make some special plays, and Chip stepped up big time,” said Spear. “He stopped some one-on-ones, some point blank shots, was strong on balls in the air, and commanded the box. This was a big step forward for him and I was proud of his maturity.”
Despite being outshot 7-3 in the first half with junior forward Mark Millard's (Oak Ridge, N.C.) goal standing as the lone shot on goal, the 'Cats did not back down and controlled play for the majority of the second half. Senior midfielder Josh Zipin (Sliver Spring, Md.) and junior defenders Allen Page (Columbus, Ga.) and Dennis Shannon (Denver, Colo.) all had quality scoring chances just miss. Sophomore Brian McGue (Dublin, Ohio) surged through the Gaucho defense to rifle a right-footed shot that was pushed wide on a diving play by UCSB goalkeeper Sam Hayden.
The match opened up late as UCSB rallied and forced Sanders to make four saves over the last 13 minutes of regulation, but the 'Cats were just as productive, forcing Hayden to make four saves over the same stretch.
Millard scored the first goal of the match off a corner kick, collecting the rebound off the defense and sending the ball back along the goal line, where it deflected off a UCSB defender and into the goal in the 11th minute.
"Mark's goal was a very smart play," said Spear. "He hit it hard and low across the goalmouth, and fortunately for us it ricocheted off one of their players."
The lead was short-lived though, as Luis Silva slipped a through ball to Sam Garza, who scored for the equalizer in the 17th minute. UCSB scored the go-ahead goal in the 26th minute as Garza sent a cross into the six-yard box where Michael Tetteh put it in the back of the net.
"In the latter part of the first half, Santa Barbara stepped up their pressure and rhythm and seized control of the game and scored two goals, but our guys showed a lot character and resilience, and we had a lot of great chances in the second half," said Spear.
Hayden finished with five saves fo UCSB.
"Overall this experience will help our team grow," said Spear. "They were able to play on the road against a great team and do very well in front of a large crowd. They were able to comeback from being down a goal late, and survived physically and mentally in overtime. This will be a great building block for the rest of the season. We had great support from alumni and fans here. On Sunday, we play UCLA, who is arguably the other of the top two programs on the West Coast.."
Davidson will continue their West Coast trip Sunday, taking on No. 17 UCLA.
Notes: This was the first-ever meeting between the two teams … UCSB won a national title in 2006, reached the third round in the NCAA Tournament last year, and is hosting the 2010 NCAA Men's College Cup ... Davidson is now 2-1-1 against nationally-ranked opponents during the past two seasons … the last time Davidson had two ties in the same season was 2003 … the Wildcats are undefeated through their first four games for the first time since 2004 … Macnamara's only other career goal came during his freshman year, a game-winner over UNCG.
