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• The Schedule
Wednesday, Oct.12 at 7:05 p.m. PDT
UC Santa Barbara (7-5-1, 3-0-1) vs. Sacramento State (6-5-1, 2-2-0)
Harder Stadium
All-time record vs. the Hornets: 12-4-2
Record vs. Sac St. in Vom Steeg era: 11-1-1
Last meeting: UCSB 2-1 Sac St. (10/28/15 @ UCSB)
2015 series: split, 1-1
UCSB form: L T W W W
Sac St. form: T W L W L

Saturday, Oct. 15 at 7:00 p.m. PDT
UC Santa Barbara (7-5-1, 3-0-1) vs. Cal Poly (2-7-2, 0-3-1)
Spanos Stadium in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
All-time record vs. the Mustangs: 45-18-8
Record vs. CP in Vom Steeg era: 22-7-6
Last meeting: UCSB 2-2 CP (10/24/15 @ UCSB)
2015 series: UCSB goes 0-1-1 against CP
UCSB form: L T W W W
CP form: W L L T L

• Looking Ahead
This week, UCSB will wrap up a three-game homestand by welcoming in Sacramento State on Wednesday night before traveling to Cal Poly for a match on Saturday. Wednesday's game is another Gauchos Give Game Night, while Saturday marks the first game in the annual Blue-Green series.

• Gauchos on the Small Screen and the Radio
UCSBGauchos.com will carry broadcasts of both games this week, with Voice of the Gauchos Gerry Fall providing play-by-play. Wednesday's home game will be video-streamed through Big West TV, while Saturday's contest will be audio-only. Links to the broadcast can be found on the UCSB men's soccer schedule page. 

• Getting Hot
After a five-game slide in mid-September, it looks like UCSB is back on top of its game heading into this week, taking a three-game winning streak and four-game unbeaten streak into Wednesday. This is the second time in the past five years that the Gauchos have had multiple four-game unbeaten streaks in a single season.

• The Week in Review
UCSB continued its hot start to conference play with a pair of victories last week, first a 1-0 win over UC Irvine on Thursday and then a 2-1 defeat of CSUN on Saturday. Set up by Josue España, Ahinga Selemani scored the lone goal against the Anteaters, then UCSB bunkered down and recorded its third shutout of the season despite playing the final 16 minutes down a man. The Gauchos controlled the action against the Matadors, going up 2-0 after 20 minutes and dominating possession. CSUN scored a fluke goal just before halftime, but UCSB prevented them from gaining any momentum and held on for the 2-1 win.

• Selemani Named Big West Player of the Week
After one of the top two-game performances of his career, UCSB junior forward Ahinga Selemani was named Big West Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. Selemani recorded the game-winning goal in both of UCSB's contests last week, his third and fourth scores of the year. He rifled home a shot from the left side of the box after a long run from Josue España against UCI, the game's only goal. He then finished off a breakaway to go up 2-0 on CSUN after a long ball over the top from Lamar Batista. Selemani is UCSB's third Big West Offensive Player of the Week this year, including midfielder Kevin Feucht's honor last week. Selemani leads UCSB this season with three game-winning goals.

• Hanging With the Hornets
UCSB has historically dominated the series against Sacramento State, losing just one time in the 13 matchups since Tim Vom Steeg's hiring in 1999. However, that one time came last year as the Gauchos allowed five goals at Hornet Soccer Field on Oct. 14. UCSB has been unyielding to Sac State at Harder Stadium, going unbeaten in the last 10 matchups there after the Hornets won the first ever game between the two in 1992. In the Vom Steeg era, UCSB has outscored Sacramento State by a margin of 21-3 in seven games at Harder.

• Defending Their Crown
With 10 points out of their first four league games, UCSB is in a familiar place: at the top of the Big West North Division. So far in league play, UCSB has the best goal differential (+3) among North teams. The Gauchos have won three consecutive Big West North titles and have nine Big West regular season championships since 2002.

• España, El Maestro
Senior midfielder Josue España's assist on Selemani's goal against UC Irvine was his seventh of the season, moving him into sole position atop the Big West leaderboard. The FIU transfer is tied for fourth in the country in total helpers, just two behind national leader Brian Wright (Vermont), who has nine. España has an assist in four of his last six games.

• Defense Improving
Though UCSB ranks middle of the pack with a 1.64 goals-against-average for the season, the Gauchos have improved their defensive numbers in conference play, allowing only four goals for a 0.94 GAA that ranks second in the league.

• Feucht on a Roll
Though junior mid Kevin Feucht was held off the scoresheet last week – just the second time this season he's gone without a point in consecutive games – he has inarguably been a huge part of UCSB's season on both sides of the ball. The German national leads the Big West and ranks 15th in the country with eight goals, and he also tops the league with 18 points. The box-to-box beast has been on the field for all but 35 of UCSB's 1,206 minutes of action this season.

• DePuy in a Few
A 2015 All-American after leading the country with 15 regular season goals and eight game-winners, senior forward Nick DePuy was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List before the season. DePuy leads the Big West this year with a 3.15 shots per game average, and he has notched five goals despite drawing heavy coverage to give him 30 for his career. That total ranks ninth all-time in Big West history while his 15 career game-winners rank first in UCSB lore and third in the Big West.

• Confident in Conference Play
UCSB has been dominant in conference play over the past three-plus seasons, accruing a 23-4-7 record  and taking home the regular season title each year. The Gauchos' 76 combined points in league play over that span are easily the most of any Big West school, with all other teams racking up between 34 and 49 points.

• Storming the South
With last week's pair of wins, UCSB completed an undefeated run through the Big West South portion of its schedule. That should not come as news to Gaucho fans, as the blue-and-gold have accrued a 15-2-3 record against South opponents since the Big West switched to divisional play in 2012. That mark is the best inter-divisional record of any school in the league. At the conclusion of cross-divisional play, the North and South divisions both had 20 points, so the Big West Tourney tiebreaker is to be determined.

• Offense Clicking
Through the first month and a half of the season, UCSB has proven itself as one of the more dynamic offensive units around, as the Gauchos have scored more goals (24), produced more assists (24), and totaled more points (72) than any other Big West team. UCSB narrowly ranks second in shots (177) behind UC Davis' league-leading 179.

• RPI Report
In this week's NCAA RPI report, UCSB checked in at No. 62. That figure ranks tops in the Big West The Gauchos debuted at No. 74 in last week's initial rankings from the NCAA. Sacramento State sits at No. 92 in the current RPI while Cal Poly comes in at No. 145.

• Big West Respect
UCSB was selected unanimously to repeat as Big West North Division Champions and three Gauchos were named to the 11-man Preseason All-Conference Team when the league unveiled the results of the 2016 Preseason Coaches Poll. The Gauchos received all eight first place votes and totaled 32 points, more than any other Big West squad. Cal State Fullerton was tabbed to win the South Division.