SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Cornell men's soccer team defeated the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 1-0 on Friday evening at Harder Stadium. The Big Red improved to 1-0-0 on the year, while the Gauchos dropped to 2-2-0.

Junior forward Liam May scored the first goal of his Cornell career in the 89th-minute of the contest to lift the Big Red over the Gauchos. The game-winning tally was assisted by Colin Johnson and Sergio Zapata. Ryan Friedberg claimed the 16th clean-sheet of his career, making three critical saves throughout the course of the match.

"I thought it was a very good game between two strong teams. Our guys got more and more into the game as it went on and the consistency of their effort and persistence paid off at the end there with an excellent goal by Liam.", John Smith, the Dr. Daniel P. Wood Head Coach of Men's Soccer mentioned.

The tone of physicality was set early in the contest by both squads. Five cards were assessed in the opening frame, with four going to the Gauchos and one to the Big Red. Both teams made a push on the offensive end only to be met by stout structure and goal tending, keeping the scored locked at 0-0 at halftime.

The Big Red defense posted a strong effort on the defensive end, and Friedberg held strong when the Gauchos were able to find space behind the back-line. "Ryan did a good job commanding his box tonight and he was aided by some mammoth performances by the defense in front of him.", Smith added.

It was evident early in the second stanza that a breakdown in coverage by either team was unlikely, making for a tense ending to the match. Cornell and UC Santa Barbara both had its fair-share of high-grade opportunities late in the contest, but neither could find the go-ahead tally as time ticked down.

In the 88th-minute, May found space when Zapata and Johnson connected with him as he darted down the pitch to score the first goal of his Cornell career. The Gauchos made a push with one minute remaining in hopes to find an equalizer but would not prevail as the Big Red earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Harder Stadium that could prove critical in the RPI rankings.

"We now look forward to another excellent opponent on Monday when we face UC Irvine.", Smith concluded with.

MATCH NOTES
• Saturday marked the third all-time meeting between Cornell and UC Santa Barbara, as the Big Red extended its series lead, 3-0-0.

• Friedberg tallied his 16th-career clean-sheet, and second in a row. He was tasked with stopping three critical Gaucho-opportunities to keep the shutout in tact. He is now two away from being tied for the top spot in the Cornell record-book.

• The Big Red and the Gauchos were both featured in the 2025 United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, with Cornell being ranked 22nd and UC Santa Barbara receiving votes. Due to the later start to the season for the Big Red, and an early-season set-back to UCLA for the Gauchos, both teams fell out of the poll.

NEXT UP
The Cornell men's soccer team will complete its two-game California road-stand with a match against UC Irvine on Monday, September 8. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. P.T. at Anteater Stadium.