Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. -- UC Santa Barbara's Kevin Feucht converted a penalty kick attempt with just under three minutes remaining in the first half for the only goal of the match, lifting the No. 17 Gauchos to a 1-0 victory over host UC Davis in the regular season finale for both teams at the Aggie Soccer Field on Saturday afternoon.

Despite the loss, the Aggies (7-9-3 overall, 3-4-3 in the Big West) clinched the third and final berth out of the North Division for this year's Big West Tournament thanks to a 4-2 win by Cal Poly over Sacramento State. UC Davis will play the second-place team out of the South Division on the road on Saturday (Nov. 7) in the first round which, as of 5:50 p.m. on Saturday evening would be CSUN.

The Aggies will be making their fifth-straight appearance (and sixth overall) in the Big West Tournament -- the only program to do so during that span.

"I feel really good about the team's performance," Head Coach Dwayne Shaffer said. "I felt like we created enough opportunities to at least score a goal but, unfortunately, things just didn't go our way today."

In their only meeting this season, the Aggies and the Matadors battled to a 1-1 draw in Davis on Oct. 8, thanks to sophomore Evan Barrett's second goal of the season in the 53rd minute that tied the match.

"One of the good things is that we're fully healthy and card-free," Shaffer said. "Now we have a full week to rest, rejuvenate, and prepare for one game. This week, we'll make sure the guys get a lot of treatment, have some fun during training, stick true to our team principles, and hope that one of our players gets hot and puts the ball in the back of the net."

UC Santa Barbara (12-5-2, 7-2-1) clinched the North Division title and earned a first-round bye. Second-place Cal Poly will host the third-place team out of the South Division, which at the moment is UC Irvine.

All four South Division teams play at 7 p.m., Saturday night, with six points separating first and third place.

UC Davis had the majority of scoring chances to open the match, including back-to-back opportunities by Matt Wiesenfarth. In the 13th minute, Wiesenfarth beat the Gaucho defense to a 50/50 ball in the UCSB defensive end, and had a 1-on-1 with goalkeeper Justin Vom Steeg, but the Aggie's chip shot was chested down by the leaping keeper, who came off his line and out of the penalty area to clear the ball away from danger.

Wiesenfarth's next opportunity came just over a minute later on a diving header at the left post that was cleared off the line by a UC Santa Barbara defender to keep the Aggies off the board.

The Gauchos' first, and best opportunity, to that point came in the 36th minute as leading scorer Nick DePuy found his way inside the box and put a header toward the goal that UC Davis' Kris Schultz was able to punch over the crossbar from about 10 yards out.

In the 40th minute, Schultz made another save on a shot by Cody Gibson and was kept busy over the next two minutes as he turned away attempts by Fuad Adeniyi and Nick DePuy, before the Aggies were whistled for a foul in the box.

A turnover in the UC Davis defensive third gave the ball to Gibson, who split two defenders before being taken down just inside the 18 on the right side as the Gauchos were award the penalty. Feucht stepped to the spot and sent a shot to the lower left corner for his fifth goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.

UCSB has scored three goals in two meetings against the Aggies this season, but none of those coming during the run of play as all three have been by Feucht from the penalty spot.

UC Davis came out of the break and tested Vom Steeg early as freshman Roy Boateng was able to get his head on a ball off a long throw that was headed back to him at the left post, only to have Vom Steeg make a diving stop -- one of four on the afternoon for the freshman.

The Gauchos almost made it 2-0 in the 53rd minute as Seo-in Kim, a halftime substitute, made a cut on his defender down the right side and unleashed a rocket that clanged off the outside edge of the right post to keep it a one-goal game.

The Aggies kept the pressure on, taking five of the final eight shots over the last 25 minutes, but could not breakthrough. Meanwhile, Schultz came up big, making a pair of saves to finish with a career high-tying six for the match.

Both teams finished with 13 shots, while the Gauchos led with a 7-5 advantage in shots on frame. Wiesenfarth earned match honors with a game-high five shots on the day, while DePuy took three to lead the Gauchos.

UC Santa Barbara (12-5-2 / 7-2-1 BWC) vs. UC Davis (7-9-3 / 3-4-3 BWC)
Date: Oct 31, 2015 Attendance: 1016
Weather: beautiful day for 'Senior Day'

Goals by period 1 2 Tot
-------------------------------
UC Santa Barbara.... 1 0 - 1
UC Davis............ 0 0 - 0

SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 42:28 UCSB Feucht, Kevin (5) Penalty kick - UCSB #27 taken down in box, top right side, shot to lower left

Shots: UC Santa Barbara 13, UC Davis 13
Saves: UC Santa Barbara 5 (Vom Steeg, Justin 4; TEAM 1), UC Davis 6 (Wiesenfarth, Matt 6)