SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Central Arkansas men's soccer team came inches away from earning a draw against the Gauchos on Monday, but fell 2-1 to close out the West Coast road trip.
 
The Bears (0-2) gave UCSB everything it could handle, but a defensive miscue in the second half proved to be Central Arkansas' downfall. Vaclav Koseny scored his first-career goal in the effort, notching the first goal of the season for Central Arkansas. UCSB started the match will all of the momentum, holding the ball in the offensive third for the better part of the first five minutes. The Gauchos got off a couple of shots on goal, but early on, Javier Ramirez was on top of things and under control.
 
Central Arkansas finally broke through and went on the counter attack, pressing forward for some offense of its own a few minutes later. Aby Gomez put the first shot on goal for the Bears, but his attempt was saved by the Gaucho keeper. The pendulum of momentum swung back the other way as UCSB regained possession, and in the 26^th minute, the home team tallied the first score.
 
Late in the first half, the Bears countered on a try by the Gauchos, and in the ensuing transition opportunity, Lucas Shearer found Kozeny, who sidestepped into a shot and beat the keeper in the 43^rd minute, leveling the score before half.
 
The second half began much like the first, with UC Santa Barbara in control of possession. But once again, Ramirez and the defense held fast, repelling the home team through the initial surge. Tragedy struck in the 64^th minute, when an errant back-pass fell short of its target in a dangerous position, and a Gaucho was able to capitalize and put the home team back in front.
 
Now in desperation mode, the Bears sent everything forward as the clock ticked down. From the 75^th minute on, the Bears took six shots, putting three of them on target. Central Arkansas nearly had an equalizer in the 83^rd minute, when Devonte Richards blasted one from 25 yards, which resulted in a save, but Alex Kiss was there to clean up the rebound. But the AR called offsides, and VAR was unable to overturn the decision. The Gauchos were able to run out the clock from there, despite heavy pressure from the Bears.
 
Central Arkansas is in the central time zone for the next pair of games, playing at Tulsa on Friday and Missouri State on Sunday.