96.9 The Jock ESPN Radio Springfield Missouri
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Missouri State men’s soccer team dropped its season its season opener on the road Thursday night against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, 3-1.
“We got to work hard and be much more mentally tough, brave and aggressive,” head coach Michael Seabolt said.
UCSB forward Alexis Ledoux bookended the scoring with his first career brace. He started with a goal off a cross in the 17th minute with assists from Peleg Brown and Nemo Philipp. Ledoux put the match away in the 89th minute as the Bears scrambled in attempt to even the match late.
The Gauchos maintained their pressure quickly after Ledoux’s first goal forcing Missouri State goalkeeper Harry Townsend to make his first save of the match in the 19th minute and another a minute later.
“We were starting to get control of the game when they scored,” Seabolt said. “We got some really good chances and we didn’t put them away. We didn’t have to change our style too much until very late.”
UCSB committed 18 fouls with three yellow cards, continuing its trend of physical play from last season. In 2023, the Gauchos averaged the third-most fouls per game in all of Division I (15.10). Missouri State, on the other hand, was called for just four whistles after averaging the sixth-fewest per game last season (8.89).
“We just need to play through the ball, play through the plays and get on with the next play,” Seabolt said.
MoState’s best chance to knot up the score in the first half came on a pass from forward Ollie Bate to an open forward Jesus Barea in the box. UCSB goalkeeper David Mitzner extended his leg to keep the Bears off the board in the 24th minute. The Bears also had a pair of corner kick opportunities, the first of which resulted in a Mitzner save from a header by defender Mattia Petricca.
Each team posted nine shots across the 90 minutes of play with UCSB putting seven of those shots on goal compared to Missouri State’s six. Barea had four of MoState’s shots with three of them being on target.
The Gauchos gave themselves some breathing room in the 79th minute when forward Nicolas Willumsen fired a strike through the right side of the net on a breakaway. Ledoux also tallied an assist on the goal, adding to his four-point day where he played a part in each Gaucho goal.
The loss was Missouri State’s first to open a season since 2017 when it fell 1-0 at Air Force. The three goals are the most given up by the Bears in a season opener since allowing three goals at SMU in 2010.
Missouri State found some late life in the 87th minute as Barea notched his 20th career goal as a Bear to cut the lead in half, 2-1. The milestone goal goes along with Barea’s 10th career goal which he also scored against UCSB in 2022.
“He’ll enjoy his accomplishments as a Bear,” Seabolt said. “I know he’ll look back at it with pride and I’ll look back at coaching him with pride but right now we’re just working toward our next game.”
The Bears (0-1) will return to Springfield for its home opener against another California team in the University of the Pacific (1-0) on Monday, Aug. 26 at Betty & Bobby Allison Stadium. The Pacific Tigers defeated UC Davis in their home opener Thursday night, 1-0. Kickoff for Missouri State’s home opener is set for 7:00 p.m. CT.
