UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
men's soccer
2023 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team
Founded1966
UniversityUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
Athletic directorKelly Barsky
Head coachTim Vom Steeg (25th season)
ConferenceBig West
LocationSanta Barbara, California
StadiumHarder Stadium
(Capacity: 17,000)
NicknameGauchos
ColorsBlue and gold[1]
   
Home
Away
NCAA Tournament championships
2006
NCAA Tournament runner-up
2004
NCAA Tournament College Cup
2004, 2006
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
2004, 2006, 2019
NCAA Tournament Round of 16
2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2019
NCAA Tournament appearances
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021
Conference Tournament championships
2010, 2021
Conference Regular Season championships
2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team is an NCAA Division I college soccer team composed of student-athletes attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Gauchos play their home matches at Harder Stadium. Like most of the other UC Santa Barbara Gauchos athletic teams, the men's soccer team competes in the Big West Conference.

The UCSB Gauchos won the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. The program has produced a total of 19 All-American selections, all but one of which since 2002, and over 60 players who have gone on to play professionally or represent their senior national teams.[2]

Eash season from 2007 to 2015, the Gauchos were recognized by the NCAA as the men's attendance champions by average attendance (men's and women's inclusive across Division I, II, and III) – the longest such recorded streak in the NCAA record books.[3] The program holds the top six all-time NCAA soccer records for largest regular season attendances at on-campus venues (men's and women's inclusive across Division I, II, and III).[4][5] This is highlighted by the top all-time mark of 15,896 fans packed into Harder Stadium on September 24, 2010, when UC Santa Barbara hosted UCLA for their regular season match, despite the Santa Barbara County Fire Marshal turning fans away at the gates for fear of filling the stadium over capacity.[6][7][8]

History

Humble beginnings

UC Santa Barbara fielded its first men's soccer team in 1966, but they didn't compete in the Big West Conference until 1983.[9] The Gauchos had mixed success, with good seasons (1983, 1988) alongside bad seasons (1991, 1992), but never found prolonged stretches of success or failure.[10]

The Big West Conference stopped sponsoring men's soccer after the 1991 season, but re-instituted it prior to the 2001 season.[9] During this period, UCSB competed in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The return of soccer to the Big West Conference marked the rough beginning of the Gauchos' greatest success to date.[9]

Vom Steeg era

In January 1999, UC Santa Barbara's athletic director, Gary Cunningham, was successfully able to hire former UCSB and professional soccer player, Tim Vom Steeg, away from Santa Barbara City College to lead the Gauchos' program.[11][12] The Gauchos won the 2001 Big West Conference championship for the first time in their history, but missed out on a trip to the NCAA Tournament since the Big West Conference was ineligible for an automatic bid.[13] UC Santa Barbara have won eight Big West regular season championships (2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014) and have won the Big West tournament in 2010.[10]

2004 NCAA Championships

The Gauchos burst on to the national scene in 2004 during their run at the 2004 NCAA Championship. The showing in this tournament established UC Santa Barbara as a force in college soccer, with UCSB marching all the way to the finals before losing out on penalties to Indiana.

2006 NCAA Championships

2006 White House visit with George W. Bush.

The crowning achievement of the men's soccer program took place in 2006, where UCSB won the NCAA Division I Championship in a 2–1 decision over UCLA. It marked the program's first championship and only the university's second athletics championship (1979 Men's Water Polo).

At one point during the season, UCSB's record stood at 7–6 with dim prospects for postseason glory. However, a 5–1 stretch to close out the regular season raised morale. The Gauchos made the NCAA Tournament as an unseeded team. During their championship run, the unseeded Gauchos defeated San Diego State at home, then #1 ranked/#3 seeded SMU followed by Old Dominion on the road, and finally Northwestern before an NCAA season high 8,784 people at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara. This propelled the Gauchos into the Final Four and earned them a trip to the College Cup held at Hermann Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.

UCSB needed extra time to defeat #2 seed Wake Forest 0–0 (4–3 on penalties) in their first match of the College Cup. The final was a matchup between Southern California teams as UCLA advanced on a 4–0 win over Virginia. The #8 ranked/#8 seeded Bruins served as the final team to fall to the Gauchos by a score of 2–1 to complete UCSB's magical season.

Players

Current squad

As of August 16, 2023[14]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK United States USA David Mitzner
1 GK Germany GER Leroy Zeller
2 DF United States USA Jorge Aldana
3 DF United States USA Caden Vom Steeg
4 MF Sweden SWE Carl Mollerberg
5 DF Sweden SWE Johannes Vedin
6 DF Germany GER Timon Windisch
7 FW France FRA Alexis Ledoux
8 MF Denmark DEN Mikkel Goeling
9 FW United States USA Salvador Aguilar
10 MF United States USA Lucas Gonzalez
11 FW Ghana GHA David Danquah
12 DF United States USA Pablo Figueroa
13 MF United States USA Nalu Mack
14 MF United States USA Jared Vom Steeg
15 DF United States USA Keaton Fargo
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF United States USA Dominick Phanco
18 FW Denmark DEN Nicolas Willumsen
19 DF United States USA Andrew Kamienski
20 FW United States USA Rene Pacheco
21 DF Japan JPN Haruki Utsumi
22 DF United States USA Kenny Villatoro
23 FW Brazil BRA Henrique Bueno
24 MF United States USA Eddie Villeda
25 MF United States USA Isaiah Barber
27 MF United States USA Miguel Tostado
28 MF United States USA Kaden Standish
29 GK United States USA Teddy Hutman
30 MF United States USA Ethan Senter
31 FW United States USA Kavi Krishnan
77 MF Norway NOR Filip Basili
85 MF Germany GER Nemo Philipp

Notable former players

Players noted below, with years at UCSB in parentheses, have represented their senior national team or played professionally.

Coaching staff

Current technical staff

As of August 16, 2023[15]
Position Name
Head coach Tim Vom Steeg
Associate head coach Greg Wilson
Assistant coach & recruiting coordinator Johnny Whallon
Goalkeeper coach Claine Plummer

Head coaches

As of August 2021
NameNationalityFromToPWLDWin%Honours
Zolton von Smogyi - 1966 1971 5932216.593
Sandy Guess - 1972 1973 259133.420
Sandy Guess/Ken Reeves - 1974 1974 15564.467
Alan Meeder United States 1975 1978 7342265.610
John Purcell - 1979 1980 3715175.473
Andy Kuenzli - 1981 1989 180956421.586
Cliff Draeger - 1990 1991 3715202.432
Mark Arya United States 1992 1998 13040846.331
Tim Vom Steeg United States 1999 Present 44927312452.666

The Blue-Green Rivalry

Chosen as the #1 "Greatest Rivalry In College Soccer" by CollegeSoccerNews.com, the main rival of the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos soccer team is the Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer team.[16] The rivalry is a part of the larger Blue–Green Rivalry, which encompasses all sports from the two schools. With both schools located on the Central Coast less than 100 miles apart, attendance has risen dramatically following the Gauchos' 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. The crowds of these games are record-setting and are among the highest regular season games in NCAA college soccer history.

Postseason

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 19–11 through twelve appearances.[17]

Year Round Opponent Result
2002First round
Second round		San Diego
California		W 2–0
L 1–2
2003Second round
Third round		California
St. John's		W 2–0
L 2–3
2004Second round
Third round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
National Championship		Milwaukee
UNC Greensboro
VCU
Duke
Indiana		W 2–1
W 1–0
W 4–1
W 5–0
L 1–2
2005First round
Second round		San Diego State
CSU Northridge		W 2–0
L 2–3
2006First round
Second round
Third round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
National Championship		San Diego State
SMU
Old Dominion
Northwestern
Wake Forest
UCLA		W 2–1
W 3–1
W 2–1
W 3–2
W 1–0
W 2–1
2007Second round
Third round		Washington
Ohio State		W 1–0
L 3–4
2008Second roundCaliforniaL 2–3
2009First round
Second round
Third round		Wofford
San Diego
UCLA		W 1–0
W 1–0
L 1–2
2010First round
Second round		Denver
California		W 1–0
L 1–2
2011Second round
Third round		Providence
Creighton		W 3–2
L 1–2
2013Second roundPenn StateL 0–1
2015Second round
Third round		South Carolina
Clemson		W 1–0
L 2–3
2019First round
Second round
Third round
Quarterfinals		California
Saint Mary's
Indiana
Wake Forest		W 3–1
W 4–0
W 1–0
L 0–1

References

  1. ↑ "UCSB Color". Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Nick DePuy Named All-American, Becomes Fourth Gaucho Ever to Earn First Team Status". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. December 11, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Men's Soccer Attendance Records: Annual Home Attendance Champions" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 5. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Men's Soccer Attendance Records: All-Time Largest Crowds" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 7. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Women's Soccer Attendance Records: Game Attendance Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 6. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  6. ↑ Keh, Andrew (November 2, 2010). "Surge in Attendance at Men's College Games". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  7. ↑ Eskilson, J.R. (September 20, 2012). "Men's College Preview: The Great Cal Rivalry". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  8. ↑ Punzal, Barry (September 20, 2012). "It's the main event: UCSB vs. UCLA at Harder Stadium". presidiosports.com. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 "Big West Conference Men's Soccer Records" (PDF). bigwest.org. December 2014. p. 2. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Big West Conference Men's Soccer Records" (PDF). bigwest.org. December 2014. pp. 2–3. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Tim Vom Steeg – Men's Soccer". DARE. UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. 2013. p. 39. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Friday's Sports Transactions". Associated Press. January 16, 1999. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Men's Soccer Claims Big West Championship With 2-0 Shutout Of UC Irvine". ucsbgauchos.com. November 16, 2001. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  14. ↑ "2023 Men's Soccer Roster". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Men's Soccer Coaching Staff". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  16. ↑ "The Fourteen Greatest Rivalries In College Soccer". collegesoccernews.com. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Division I Men's Soccer Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
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