UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
Men's Soccer

University University of California, Santa Barbara
Conference Big West
Division North
Location Santa Barbara, California
Head Coach Tim Vom Steeg (17th year)
Stadium Harder Stadium
(Capacity: 17,000)
Nickname Gauchos
Colors Pacific blue and Gaucho gold and Navy blue

                     

Home
Away
NCAA Tournament Champions
2006
NCAA Tournament Runner Up
2004
NCAA Tournament College Cup
2004, 2006
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal
2004, 2006
NCAA Tournament Round of 16
2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015
NCAA Tournament Appearances
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team is a 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.

Since 2007, the Gauchos have been recognized every year by the NCAA as the men's attendance champions by average attendance (Division I, II, and III) – the longest such recorded streak in the NCAA record books.[1] Additionally, 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).[2][3] 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.[4][5][6]

The team is most famous for winning the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. It was a finalist in the 2004 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, losing in penalties. The program has produced a total of 19 All-American selections, all but one of which since 2002, and over 40 players who have gone on to play professionally or represent their senior national teams.[7]

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.[8] The Gauchos had mixed success, with good seasons (1983, 1988) alongside bad seasons (1991, 1992), but never found prolonged stretches of success or failure.[9]

The Big West Conference stopped sponsoring men's soccer after the 1991 season, but re-instituted it prior to the 2001 season.[8] 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.[8]

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.[10][11] 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.[12] 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.[9]

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 penalites 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.

Post-championship to present

At the end of UCSB's 2-1 loss to UC Davis in overtime, UCSB coach Tim Vom Steeg was aggressively yelling at the referees for what he believed was a missed foul call preceding the UC Davis golden goal. During the chaos, UCSB senior Peter McGlynn ran toward the match referee, Reed Christy, and pushed him to the ground despite Vom Steeg's attempts to block McGlynn. McGlynn was detained by campus police and later released.[13][14] As a result of the incident, the UCSB Athletics Department, in collaboration with the Big West Conference, removed McGlynn from the team with two games remaining in his senior year, suspended head coach Tim Vom Steeg for the following game, and chose to forgo postseason play for 2012.[15] McGlynn later apologized with a statement on his Twitter account and pled guilty to the misdemeanor and served community service as a result.[16]

Players

Current squad

As of August 20, 2015[17]

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

No. Position Player
0 United States GK Kevin Armstrong
1 United States GK Brandon Berke
2 United States DF Jeff Quezada
3 United States DF Randy Mendoza
4 England DF Fuad Adeniyi
5 United States MF Adam Carn-Saferstein
6 United States FW Nick DePuy
7 United States MF Drew Murphy
8 United States DF Duncan Backus
9 Canada FW Ahinga Selemani
10 United States MF Josue España
11 Ghana FW Geoffrey Acheampong
12 United States DF John Rehl
13 United States DF Brandon Brockway
14 South Korea MF Seo-In Kim
No. Position Player
15 The Gambia DF Ismaila Jome
16 Germany MF Kevin Feucht
17 United States MF Andy Perez
18 United States MF Kosti Moni
19 United States MF Christian Rodriguez
20 United States FW Armand Bagramyan
21 United States FW Alex Liua
22 United States GK Justin Vom Steeg
23 United States DF Sam Strong
24 United States GK Josh McNeely
25 United States DF Dugan Zier
26 England FW Jonah Adomakoh
27 United States FW Cody Gibson
28 United States MF Evan Schwartz

Notable former players

For more details on this topic, see UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer professionals.
Players noted below, with years at UCSB in parentheses, have gone on to play professionally. The players in bold have senior international caps.

Coaching staff

Current technical staff

As of April 2016.[18]
Position Name
Head coach Tim Vom Steeg
Associate head coach Greg Wilson
Assistant coach Greg Curry
Volunteer assistant coach Fifi Baiden
Undergraduate student assistant coach Ciaran O'Brien
Community outreach coordinator Kayla Grosset

Head coaches

NameNationalityFromToPWLDGFGAWin%Honours
Zolton von Smogyi - 1966 1971 593221654.24
Sandy Guess - 1972 1973 25913336.00
Sandy Guess/Ken Reeves - 1974 1974 1556433.34
Alan Meeder United States 1975 1978 734226557.53
John Purcell - 1979 1980 371517540.54
Andy Kuenzli - 1981 1989 18095642152.78
Cliff Draeger - 1990 1991 371520240.54
Mark Arya United States 1992 1998 1304084630.77
Tim Vom Steeg United States 1999 Present 216140562064.81

UCSB seasons (since 2001)

For more details on this topic, see List of UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer seasons.
Season Conference Record Conference
Tourn. Pos.		 Overall Record Honours Top points[19] Top scorer[20]
Conference Pld. W L D Pos. Pld. W L D Natl.
Rank
2001 Big West 10 7 2 1 1st 19 11 5 3 Big West Champion Rob Friend 27 Rob Friend 11
2002 Big West 10 9 0 1 1st 22 18 3 1 Big West Champion, NCAA 2nd Round Rob Friend 44 Rob Friend 20
2003 Big West 10 7 3 0 2nd 22 16 5 1 NCAA 3rd Round Drew McAthy
Neil Jones
Memo Arzate		 30 Drew McAthy 14
2004 Big West 10 8 2 0 1st 25 21 3 1 Big West Champion, NCAA Finalists Drew McAthy 43 Drew McAthy 18
2005 Big West 10 7 1 2 2nd 21 13 5 3 23[21] NCAA 2nd Round Ivan Becerra 26 Ivan Becerra 12
2006 Big West 10 7 3 0 1st 25 17 7 1 1[22] Big West Champion, NCAA Champion Eric Avila 21 Eric Avila 8
2007 Big West 12 9 1 2 1st 21 13 4 4 8[23] Big West Champion, NCAA 3rd Round Ciaran O'Brien 25 Chris Pontius 11
Beginning with the 2008 season, the Big West Conference instituted a conference tournament to determine the winner of the NCAA automatic bid instead of awarding it to the regular season winner.
2008 Big West 10 5 2 3 2nd Finals 22 10 7 5 22[24] NCAA 2nd Round Chris Pontius 32 Chris Pontius 14
2009 Big West 10 8 1 1 1st Finals 24 17 5 2 10[25] Big West Champion, NCAA 3rd Round David Walker 24 David Walker 10
2010 Big West 10 7 2 1 2nd Champion 22 14 5 3 19[26] NCAA 2nd Round Sam Garza 24 Sam Garza 9
2011 Big West 10 6 4 0 2nd Finals 23 15 7 1 12[27] NCAA 3rd Round Luis Silva 44 Luis Silva 17
Beginning with the 2012 season, the Big West Conference instituted two divisions within regular season play, moving away from a single table format. UCSB's conference position will now be represented as the standing in the "North Division".
2012 Big West 10 4 5 1 4th 19 10 6 3 Nic Ryan 19 Nic Ryan 8
2013 Big West 10 7 0 3 1st Semifinals 21 12 6 3 20[28] Big West Champion, NCAA 2nd Round Goffin Boyoko 19 Goffin Boyoko 8
2014 Big West 10 6 2 2 1st Semifinals 20 10 7 3 Big West Champion Nick DePuy 21 Nick DePuy 10
2015 Big West 10 7 2 1 1st Finals 23 14 7 2 15[29] Big West Champion, NCAA 3rd round Nick DePuy 31 Nick DePuy 15

The Blue-Green Rivalry

Main article: 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.[30] 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.

References

  1. ↑ "Men's Soccer Attendance Records: Annual Home Attendance Champions" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 5. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Men's Soccer Attendance Records: All-Time Largest Crowds" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 7. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Women's Soccer Attendance Records: Game Attendance Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 6. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  4. ↑ Keh, Andrew (November 2, 2010). "Surge in Attendance at Men’s College Games". The New York Times (New York City). Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  5. ↑ Eskilson, J.R. (September 20, 2012). "Men's College Preview: The Great Cal Rivalry". http://www.topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved April 6, 2016. External link in |website= (help)
  6. ↑ Punzal, Barry (September 20, 2012). "It’s the main event: UCSB vs. UCLA at Harder Stadium". http://presidiosports.com. Retrieved April 6, 2016. External link in |website= (help)
  7. ↑ "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.
  8. 1 2 3 "Big West Conference Men’s Soccer Records" (PDF). http://www.bigwest.org. December 2014. p. 2. Retrieved September 15, 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  9. 1 2 "Big West Conference Men’s Soccer Records" (PDF). http://www.bigwest.org. December 2014. pp. 2–3. Retrieved September 15, 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  10. ↑ "Tim Vom Steeg – Men’s Soccer". DARE (UC Santa Barbara Gauchos). 2013. p. 39. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Friday's Sports Transactions". Associated Press. January 16, 1999. Retrieved April 7, 2016 – via HighBeam Research. (subscription required (help)).
  12. ↑ "Men's Soccer Claims Big West Championship With 2-0 Shutout Of UC Irvine". http://ucsbgauchos.com. November 16, 2001. Retrieved September 15, 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  13. ↑ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49602910/ns/local_news-san_luis_obispo_ca/t/ucsb-soccer-cuts-mcglynn-after-ref-shoving-incident/#.UJb7HW_A948
  14. ↑ http://www.collegesoccernews.com/index_files/Page7605.htm
  15. ↑ "UCSB Athletics' Statement Regarding Sunday's Men's Soccer Post-Game Incident".
  16. ↑ http://www.ksby.com/news/district-attorney-files-charge-against-former-ucsb-soccer-player-mcglynn/
  17. ↑ "2015 UCSB Men's Soccer Roster". http://ucsbgauchos.com. Retrieved August 20, 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  18. ↑ "2015 UCSB Men's Soccer Roster". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  19. ↑ In NCAA scoring, goals count as 2 points while assists count as one point.
  20. ↑ Goals in all competitions (regular season, conference, and NCAA Tournament) are counted.
  21. ↑ NSCAA (December 13, 2005). "National Soccer Coaches Association of America 2005 NCAA Division I Men Final Ranking" (PDF). Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  22. ↑ NSCAA (December 5, 2006). "National Soccer Coaches Association of America 2006 NCAA Division I Men Final Ranking" (PDF). Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  23. ↑ NSCAA (December 19, 2007). "National Soccer Coaches Association of America 2007 NCAA Division I Men Final Ranking" (PDF). Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  24. ↑ NSCAA (December 16, 2008). "National Soccer Coaches Association of America 2008 NCAA Division I Men Final Ranking" (PDF). Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  25. ↑ NSCAA (December 15, 2009). "National Soccer Coaches Association of America 2009 NCAA Division I Men Final Ranking" (PDF). Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  26. ↑ NSCAA (November 9, 2010). "National Soccer Coaches Association of America 2010 NCAA Division I Men Final Ranking" (PDF). Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  27. ↑ "NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Men's - National - Final Post-Season Ranking - December 13, 2011". National Soccer Coaches Association of America. December 13, 2011. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  28. ↑ "NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Men's - National - Final Post-Season Ranking - December 17, 2013". National Soccer Coaches Association of America. December 17, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  29. ↑ "NSCAA NCAA Division I Men - National - Final Postseason Ranking - December 15, 2015". National Soccer Coaches Association of America. December 15, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  30. ↑ "The Fourteen Greatest Rivalries In College Soccer". http://www.collegesoccernews.com/. Retrieved April 7, 2016. External link in |website= (help)

External links

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