Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. -- Headed to overtime for the 10th time in 14 matches, the UC Davis men's soccer team seemed destined for their NCAA record-tying ninth draw of the season. Junior Lucas Mohageg had other plans, however, converting a long free kick from teammate Ryan Gross into the game-winner in the 107th minute Saturday afternoon, lifting the Aggies to a 1-0 win over UC Santa Barbara in front of a loud capacity crowd of 1,344 supporters at Aggie Soccer Field.

"Not too many teams are able to shutout a team like UC Santa Barbara, but we did today," Head Coach Dwayne Shaffer said. "We applied so much pressure, attacking for so long, I felt like eventually they were going to break down. We need to capitalize on our set pieces and Lucas, at 6-foot-4, is so good in the air, it was a really nice goal."

UC Davis improved to 5-1-8 overall and 3-1-1 in Big West Conference play with the victory, remaining unbeaten in its last 11 home contests (5-0-6). It was the Aggies' 10th double-overtime match of the season, just one shy of the NCAA record set by Saint Louis in 2013 and equalled by San Diego State in 2009 and UC Davis in 2011.

The Gauchos, who entered the day 13-4-3 all-time against the Aggies, fell to 6-6-2 overall and 2-2-1 in league play with the loss, falling to 1-3-1 against UC Davis in the last five contests between the two programs.

Two golden opportunities -- one in each half -- were narrowly missed by the Aggies that would have given them the early lead. The first came in the 10th minute of the match when Evan Barrett unleashed a shot that was tipped by UCSB goalkeeper Brandon Berke right to the feet of Eddie Manella, whose rebound toward a wide-open goal was turned aside by a sliding Jeff Quezada to keep the match scoreless.

Playing a man up after Brandon Brockway was sent off following a second yellow card six minutes into the second half, the Aggies had another chance at the go-ahead score just miss as Manella's shot was again stopped by Berke, but right to the feet of Ian Palmer, whose rebound bounced just wide in the 76th minute.

However, it was Mohageg's fourth goal of the year that saved the day for UC Davis after the Gauchos' Charlie Miller was shown a yellow card. With the ball just on the UC Santa Barbara side of midfield, Gross lofted a ball to the back post to Mohageg, who headed it down just out of the reach of Berke to end the game.

"Ryan hit perfect balls all game, we just weren't getting on the end of them like how we wanted to," Mohageg said. "That last ball was just perfect to the far post, however, and there really weren't a lot of people marking me so I just tried to head it to the near post, got good contact, and put it home. Unbelieveable feeling."

The Aggies out-shot the Gauchos, 15-8, for the match, including putting six shots on frame, while holding a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks. Barrett shared match honors with UCSB's Ismaila Jome, accounting for four of their respective team's shots.

Sophomore Armando Quezada made a pair of saves to record his third shutout of the season, while the defense, which was playing without senior Ramon Martin Del Campo due to a red card suspension, held the Gauchos to just two shots on goal.

"It was good to get a result like this," Shaffer said. "This is a team that is full of talent. We are just as talented as any other team in the nation and, I feel, we can beat anyone on any given night. I want my players to believe that they are the best in the Big West because I believe that."

The match was played in front of the largest home crowd of the season for UC Davis, more than doubling the previous high of 636 fans against Saint Mary's on Sept. 28.

"It was awesome energy for everyone involved with a crowd like that," Shaffer said. "The guys played a little harder and it was definitely nice to be able to turn around and see a packed house. It was a great environment for a great soccer match."

Mohageg added, "If we have a crowd like that for every match, we're going to go far, I'll tell you that right now. We felt the energy the whole game and it's such a great feeling playing in front of all those people, especially when they're chanting and the whole crowd is really into the match. It was unbelievable to have the whole school behind us like that."

The Aggies remain on the road for a pair of matches next week, opening a three-match road trip at Cal Poly on Wednesday (Oct. 22) and against Sacramento State at Bonney Field, home of the USL PRO Champion Sacramento Republic FC, on Saturday (Oct. 25). Both matches kickoff at 7 p.m.