SMU Falls to UC Santa Barbara
Published 11/16/2006 8:05:40 AM by SoccerXpert Staff from Dallas, Texas U.S.A.
The #3 ranked SMU mens soccer team crashed out of the NCAA playoffs losing 3-1 to UC Santa Barbara Wednesday night in a 2nd round match. UCSB came out the aggressors on the night and established a physical presence. They commited 25 fouls on the night to SMUs 11. The aggressive attitude paid off in the 32nd minute as Nick Perera scored from the top of the box to put UCSB ahead 1-0. SMU answered back in the 40th minute as Scott Corbin scored to even the score at 1-1. However just as SMU got back into the game they relaxed and let UCSB grab a devastating goal right before the half. With less than 2 minutes remaining in the first half David Walker nodded home a loose ball in the box to steal not only the lead but the all the momentum heading to the break. SMU tried to fight back in the 2nd half but seemed to be fighting an uphill battle. Finally in the 76th minute Eric Avila put the game out of reach giving UC Santa Barbara a comfortable 3-1 lead which they would hold until the end. UCSB were clearly the aggressors on the night outshooting SMU 16-8. UCSB advances to play Old Dominion in the 3rd round of the NCAAs this weekend. SMU ends their season at 17-2-4.
Label: SMU, UC Santa Barbara, NCAA Playoffs
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