UC Santa Barbara launched a campaign to promote the season ticket sales for its soccer team this past summer.
The heading: “Tortillas will be the least of their problems,” referencing the long-standing UCSB fan tradition of tossing tortillas onto the field to baffle opponents while also asserting that the Gaucho team and its fans are ready to wreck havoc.
And on Friday night, it poured tortillas. A raucous crowd of 15,896, the second largest ever to watch a regular-season NCAA soccer game, fervently sought vengeance against a UCLA team that eliminated UCSB from the 2009 College Cup.
But it wasn’t just flour pancakes that wrapped up the No. 7 Bruins (5-2-1) in their 2-0 loss to the Gauchos (3-2-2).
UCLA freshman Kelyn Rowe had five shots saved by the Gauchos’ senior goalkeeper Sam Hayden, who equaled his career high with six saves.
In a frenetic second half, UCSB freshman forward David Opoku tapped in a rebound off of a corner kick from teammate Danny Barrera in the 74th minute. Barrera would add the finishing touch to the match, scoring on a breakaway goal in the 89th minute to seal the victory.
“The loss on Friday was disappointing, but our mentality was to come right back and win however we could (Sunday),” junior forward Eder Arreola said. “We did whatever it took to get the victory.”
The Bruins asserted themselves early on against Cal State Fullerton (1-4-2) Sunday, eventually notching a 3-2 win.
Arreola assisted on sophomore midfielder Evan Raynr’s first half goal while doing his own damage later, scoring on his own aggressive run in the 64th minute.
“It’s just a matter of (the forwards) being confident and taking their opportunities, and it’s up to us as midfielders to get them the ball as much as possible and make sure they know that we have confidence in them,” junior midfielder Andy Rose said. “I think they are figuring that out and that’s great heading into the Pac-10 season.”
But the Titans would stay in the game. It wasn’t until freshman defender Patrick Matchett delivered a cross into the box for freshman forward Reed Williams that the Bruins took the lead for good, 3-2.
“Friday’s game against Santa Barbara was tough,” Arreola said. “It took us a while to get going, but (Sunday) was a different game. We had the mentality to be aggressive from the beginning, and we got three goals.”
This mentality bodes well for UCLA as it begins Pac-10 play by hosting Washington on Friday.
But for now, the loss against the Gauchos will sting a bit. Santa Barbara hosts the 2010 College Cup, and the two teams may meet again.
“It would mean the world to me if we were to play (UCSB) again,” Rose said. “Hopefully, we will get another chance.”
And if that time comes, the Bruins can only hope that those tortillas the Santa Barbara-faithful fling, fly down from the stands in frustration, not celebration.