SANTA BARBARA, Calif. --- UC Irvine men's soccer withstood a high-flying affair Saturday night at Harder Stadium with a 0-0 draw against UC Santa Barbara.
Senior Salute
- The hosts honored their seniors prior to the match in their final home regular season match of 2025
- The Gauchos looked to put on a show with 10 shots in the first half making keeper Joe O'Shaughnessy work on three of them making saves
- His toughest came in the 31st minute on a ball dipping to his left as he reached out for a one-handed save on a short-hop tipping it wide
- The Anteaters got one shot up in the half as Marcus Lee got one on target in the 38th minute, less than a minute after he came on as a sub
Wreaking Havoc
- The second half began with more of the same as UC Santa Barbara added the first four shots with O'Shaughnessy picking up another save.
- An errant shot for the 'Eaters broke up the run before three more for the Gauchos all missing the frame putting them up 17-2 on shots in the match
- UC Irvine saw its chance starting in the 75th minute
- The Anteaters broke out and played in the Gaucho half for a bit starting with four shots in two minutes including Justin Conyers with a snipe that UCSB keeper stopped on a hop
- The shots kept coming with Marcus Lee missing by inches in the 85th minute. Lyons got another shot up later in the minute stopped on a dive and the rebound corraled just before Misael Gonzalez Lopez could poke it in
- Gonzalez Lopez got his chance in the 88th minute curling one just high on the seventh and final UCI shot
- The Gauchos had a pair of last gasps in the final minutes
- A cross in the 89th minute saw O'Shaughnessy reach up and tip it off the crossbar for a corner kick
- As the seconds ticked down, the Gauchos pressured an Anteater defender near the goalline and got a foot at it serving it across the face of goal and wide as time expired
UC Irvine 0, UC Santa Barbara 0
- The draw keeps unbeaten streaks for each side as UCI sits at 3-0-5 over their last eight and UCSB builds their unbeaten streak to 11 straight on 4-0-7
- UCI remains unbeaten in the last five regular season matchups with the Gauchos at 1-0-4
- The scoreless draw gives Joe O'Shaughnessy his seventh shutout of the season and an eighth for the team
- He collected five saves on the night matching his season high from the match at Cal State Bakersfield
- The 'Eaters were out-shot, 21-9, while putting one-third of their shots on target.
- UCI also committed just six fouls while UCSB, one of the most-cautioned programs in the country, made just 12 with one caution
- The point gives UC Irvine 14 in Big West play, a 3-0-5 record, and keeps them in position for a Big West title sitting two points behind UCSB and Cal State Fullerton for first place
- The point and results from the day also clinch a spot in the Big West Championship for the Anteaters, the seventh consecutive appearance for UCI
Next up is the regular season finale for UC Irvine, Saturday, November 1 with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff against UC Riverside. The 'Eaters will celebrate their seniors before the match in Anteater Stadium.
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