Sept. 21, 2006
Fullerton, Calif. - Nick Perera's free kick from about 30 yards out deflected off the wall and into the net in the second overtime period Thursday night to give UC Santa Barbara a 2-1 Big West Conference men's soccer victory over Cal State Fullerton.
The win lifted UCSB to a 5-2-0 overall mark and a 2-0-0 slate in the Big West while host Fullerton (3-4-1) was playing its conference opener. The winning goal came at 105:25.
Fortuitous bounces played a role in both goals in regulation. UCSB's Bryan Byrne saw a deflection roll down the right sideline and he ran the ball down, dribbled in from a steep angle and beat Fullerton goalkeeper Kevin Puder to the far left post for a 1-0 lead in the 70th minute.
Fullerton tied the match with less than six minutes to play when Amir Shafii's short cross caromed around in a crowd in the goal mouth and landed at the feet of Eugene Brooks, who punched the ball past Kyle Reynish for his fourth goal of the season.
Reynish made 6 saves on the night while Puder, making his first start of the season due to an injury, logged 9 saves.
Fullerton plays a non-conference match Sunday at UNLV while UCSB travels to UC Davis on Saturday.