Tuesday, October 27
Santa Barbara, CA
7:00 PM
California Baptist University
11-3-2, 3-1-2
4
at
1
UC Santa Barbara
8-5-4, 2-1-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Baptist | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Photo by: Matt Horrocks
10/27/2026 9:33:00 PM | Men's Soccer
SANTA BARBARA, CA --- The closing week of the 2026 regular season began on Tuesday with the Lancers competing in a non-conference match against UC Santa Barbara. Playing the first of two non-conference clashes to close the season, CBU built a first-half lead that carried the Lancers to a 4-1 win.
Tuesday's victory moves the Lancers to 11-3-2, matching the most wins in a single season in the program's Division I era. The Lancers are also 8-1-1 when playing on the road.
While the match did not count towards conference standings, it could still affect the Lancers' postseason positioning. UCSB entered Tuesday No. 35 in the RPI, making Tuesday's victory a quad one win for the Lancers, who sit at No. 60.
Sophomore Nico Coope netted the Lancers' first goal of the night, an unassisted tally in the 20th minute of play. The goal sequence began with a long ball from William Lawson that was received by a UCSB defender. The touch deflected right to Coope in the penalty area, who then beat the goalkeeper on the far post to give his side the lead.
Less than five minutes later, the advantage was doubled, this time thanks to senior Drew Hardin. Hardin's third goal of the season was set up by Mustapha Khasim, who stole the ball on a sliding challenge before setting up Hardin just outside of the penalty area. Hardin took one touch before ripping his shot toward the far post.
Hardin now has 12 goals in his collegiate career.
Pace of play then slowed down in the second half, most notably around the 64th minute. Over the course of 90 seconds of soccer, the center referee used VAR three times, resulting in a penalty attempt for the Gauchos and a later red card issued to the Lancers.
UCSB was successful on its penalty as Steinar Bjornsson put the Gauchos on the board. The red card was shown to junior Blake D'Agostino for an enfraction in the bench area. D'Agostino was serving a yellow card suspension on Tuesday and will now be out for the Lancers' next contest as well.
The Lancers responded to the goal and subsequent send-off with Coope's second goal of the night, a long-distance strike that caught the goalkeeper flat-footed.
A fourth goal was added in the 89th minute when Felix Ezekwuka netted his second goal of the season.
CBU will close out the regular season on Saturday with a non-conference match against UC Irvine. Saturday's kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CBU will then shift its focus to the Oregon State-Gonzaga match at 7 p.m. A Gonzaga win will clinch the Lancers the outright Pac-12 Regular Season Championship and home-field advantage in the conference tournament.
Tickets for Saturday's match are on sale HERE.
Tuesday's victory moves the Lancers to 11-3-2, matching the most wins in a single season in the program's Division I era. The Lancers are also 8-1-1 when playing on the road.
While the match did not count towards conference standings, it could still affect the Lancers' postseason positioning. UCSB entered Tuesday No. 35 in the RPI, making Tuesday's victory a quad one win for the Lancers, who sit at No. 60.
Sophomore Nico Coope netted the Lancers' first goal of the night, an unassisted tally in the 20th minute of play. The goal sequence began with a long ball from William Lawson that was received by a UCSB defender. The touch deflected right to Coope in the penalty area, who then beat the goalkeeper on the far post to give his side the lead.
Less than five minutes later, the advantage was doubled, this time thanks to senior Drew Hardin. Hardin's third goal of the season was set up by Mustapha Khasim, who stole the ball on a sliding challenge before setting up Hardin just outside of the penalty area. Hardin took one touch before ripping his shot toward the far post.
DREWWW… WHAT A STRIKE 🤯 #LanceUp⚔️ https://t.co/omIEnLSGjn
— California Baptist Men's Soccer (@CBUmsoccer) October 28, 2026
Hardin now has 12 goals in his collegiate career.
Pace of play then slowed down in the second half, most notably around the 64th minute. Over the course of 90 seconds of soccer, the center referee used VAR three times, resulting in a penalty attempt for the Gauchos and a later red card issued to the Lancers.
UCSB was successful on its penalty as Steinar Bjornsson put the Gauchos on the board. The red card was shown to junior Blake D'Agostino for an enfraction in the bench area. D'Agostino was serving a yellow card suspension on Tuesday and will now be out for the Lancers' next contest as well.
The Lancers responded to the goal and subsequent send-off with Coope's second goal of the night, a long-distance strike that caught the goalkeeper flat-footed.
WHAT. A. GOAL. #LanceUp⚔️ https://t.co/9jUu1fGJAa
— California Baptist Men's Soccer (@CBUmsoccer) October 28, 2026
A fourth goal was added in the 89th minute when Felix Ezekwuka netted his second goal of the season.
CBU will close out the regular season on Saturday with a non-conference match against UC Irvine. Saturday's kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CBU will then shift its focus to the Oregon State-Gonzaga match at 7 p.m. A Gonzaga win will clinch the Lancers the outright Pac-12 Regular Season Championship and home-field advantage in the conference tournament.
Tickets for Saturday's match are on sale HERE.
Players Mentioned
MF
/ Men's Soccer
S
/ Men's Soccer
W
/ Men's Soccer
MF
/ Men's Soccer
D/MF
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's SoccerTeam Stats
CBU
UCSB
Goals
4
1
Shots
13
18
Shots on Goal
9
5
Saves
4
5
Corners
1
6
Fouls
18
14
Scoring Plays
Nicholas Coope (4)
GOAL by CBU Coope, Nicholas.
19:29
Drew Hardin (3)
Assisted By: Mustapha Khasim
GOAL by CBU Hardin, Drew Assist by Khasim, Mustapha.
24:11
Steinar Bjornsson (8)
UCSB Steinar Bjornsson PENALTY KICK GOAL.
63:07
Nicholas Coope (4)
Assisted By: Felix Ezekwuka
GOAL by CBU Coope, Nicholas Assist by Ezekwuka, Felix.
69:57
Felix Ezekwuka (2)
GOAL by CBU Ezekwuka, Felix.
88:51
Game Leaders
fwd
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
2
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
1
mid
Shots
4
SOG
3
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
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