SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Highlanders faced their first conference road test of the year as they took on UC Santa Barbara. UC Riverside dropped its conference opener against CSUN on Wednesday and they looked to get back into the win column against the Gauchos.

UCSB got on the board first as Buba Fofanah scored giving the Gauchos a 1-0 lead. The goal came in the 5' of play.

The Highlanders' first shot of the game came from Adrian Diaz and their second shot followed a couple of minutes later off the foot of Eric Martinez.

The Gauchos struck again in the 14' as Zac Siebenlist redirected a pass from Rameses Martinez giving them a 2-0 lead.

In the 18' Edward Castro got UCR's third shot of the game, but like the first two not on goal.

The first half ended with UCSB up 2-0.

The Highlanders found a bit of life in the second half. One of their best chances came off the foot of Diaz, but somehow UCSB's defense blocked it. UCR had another chance to get on the board off a free kick by Kevin Meza that missed over the crossbar.

Then in the 75' UCSB got its third goal of the match from Kaden Standish.

The Highlanders look to bounce back on Wednesday night at the UCR Soccer Stadium as UC San Diego heads to the IE. Kickoff is at 7PM.