SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Ronin Axelson made five saves in goal to lead the San José State men’s soccer team (0-1-0, 0-0-0 MW) in a 3-0 loss to UC Santa Barbara (1-0-0, 0-0-0 Big West) Friday night at Meredith Field at Harder Stadium in the Spartans’ season opener.
San José State held the Gauchos scoreless through the opening half hour before the Gauchos broke through in the 32nd minute. In the 43rd minute, Cameron Cook was shown a red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity, leaving the Spartans to play the remainder of the contest with 10 men. UCSB capitalized just over a minute later, scoring off a corner kick with 1:09 remaining in the half, sending SJSU into the break trailing 2-0.
Despite playing a man down, the Spartans generated more opportunities after halftime, including when Angel Gutierrez launched a shot from outside the post off the bar in the 67th minute. However, UC Santa Barbara put the match away in the 83rd minute with another strike to make it 3-0.
The Spartans finished with four shots and four corner kicks. UCSB held an 18-4 advantage in shots and put nine attempts on target.
- Neo Ruiz led San José State with two shots, while Gutierrez and Jordi Tortell Daly each added one
- Axelson went the full 90 minutes in goal and was credited with five individual saves, with the Spartans also recording a team save
- Isac Enriquez, Gutierrez and Kazushi Shimada made their collegiate debuts
- This was the first time the Spartans played the Gauchos since 2003
UP NEXT: The Spartans will face Cal Poly on the road on Thursday at 7 p.m. The game can be watched on ESPN+.
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