Thursday Sept. 12 at 7 p.m

UC Santa Barbara at. Gonzaga (0-4-0)

All-time record vs. the Bulldogs (W-L-T): 3-4-1

Last meeting: Sept. 25, 2018: UCSB 2, Gonzaga 1

Video: WCC Network

Live stats: Gonzaga

 

Sunday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m.

UC Santa Barbara at (RV) Oregon State 

All-time record vs. the Beavers (W-L-T): 0-2-1

Last meeting: Aug. 31, 2012: UCSB 2, Oregon State 2 (2OT)

Live stats: Oregon State

 

The West Coast Conference, in association with Stadium, will produce a live video broadcast of UC Santa Barbara's match against Gonzaga on Thursday night. A link to the stream will be available on the men's soccer schedule page on UCSBGauchos.com. A link to live stats will be available on the same page. 

 

There will not be an audio or video stream available for the match at Oregon State. You can still follow the action via the live stats link on the men's soccer schedule page on UCSBGauchos.com.

 

Follow the @UCSBMensSoccer account on Twitter for live tweets of both games this weekend.

 

Sporting a heavily-rotated lineup due to the injuries to Lucas Gonzalez and Faouzi Taieb and the absences of New Zealand U-23 internationals Hunter Ashworth and Noah Billingsley, the Gauchos struggled against the Cal Golden Bears, who were receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll. Simon Lekressner opened the scoring within the first minute for the visitors, and Arman Samimi added a second in the 14th minute. The Gauchos began to put together some chances on the other side of the field, with Will Baynham and Carter Clemmensen creating opportunities that forced a save and a clearance off the line respectively, but Cal added a third and final goal through Thomas Williamson in the 39th minute to go ahead 3-0. The loss was UCSB's heaviest home defeat since October 21, 2017 against UC Davis (5-0) and first time losing back-to-back games at home since October 30 (UC Davis) and November 9 (Cal State Fullerton, Big West Tournament semifinal), 2016.

 

The Gauchos hit the road for the first time in the 2019 regular season for matches against Gonzaga and Oregon State, the latter of which is receiving votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches' poll, hence the (RV) indicator alongside the team name on the schedule. The Gauchos and Bulldogs played each other regularly for a period of time from 1994-98, with Gonzaga going unbeaten in three of the four matches between the two. The series has picked up again in recent years, as this will be the fourth time since 2012 that the two West Coast programs meet. UCSB won the last tilt in the 2018 season, with two goals in the span of five minutes from Rodney Michael and Faouzi Taieb proving to be all the Gauchos needed in a 2-1 win to improve to 5-0 at home. The all-time series between the Gauchos and Beavers is even shorter, with the last result being a 2-2 draw at the Gonzaga Nike Classic in Spokane, Wash. in 2012. Goals from Dion Acoff and Javier Castro earned then-No. 9 UCSB a draw in what was the team's second game of the 2012 campaign.

 

Gonzaga are winless heading into Thursday night's matchup, and have managed just three goals from four games thus far. The Bulldogs have allowed an average of two goals per game, though. Mark McEntosh, Theo O

Malley, and Cole Rovegno have scored a goal apiece for Gonzaga this season. Oregon State carries an impressive 3-1-0 record into the weekend, which will see them travel to Arizona for a match against Grand Canyon before returning to Paul Lorenz Field to welcome the Gauchos. After suffering a season-opening home defeat to now-No. 15 Coastal Carolina, the Beavers have rattled off three victories in a row against Colgate, Davidson, and Pacific, allowing just two goals in those three games combined. A trio of players lead the team with two goals in Eric Diaz, Adrian Crespo, and Joel Walker. Crepo also leads the squad with a whopping five assists. Adrian Fernandez has started all four games in goal, making 10 saves on the season on 42 shots faced.

 

Senior right wingback Noah Billingsley and junior centerback Hunter Ashworth are back from their first stint of international duty with the New Zealand U-23 national team this month and are available for selection for the Gauchos' pair of away matches this weekend. After these games, they will link back up with the "Oly-Whites" and will be unavailable for UCSB's stretch of four matches from Sept. 19 to Sept. 28, and potentially up to Oct. 5, depending on their national team's results in the upcoming Oceania Football Confederation U-23 Championship in Fiji. The Kiwi duo are looking to help their home country qualify for its first Olympics since 2012 at the tournament. Both players started each of New Zealand U-23's back-to-back friendlies with Australia U-23 this past weekend. The first match on Sept. 6 ended in a 1-1 draw. Ashworth played the entirety of the first half before being substituted at the interval, and Billingsley played 62 minutes before being taken off. The second friendly, which took place on Sept. 9 also ended in a 1-1 draw and saw Billingsley play the entire match while Ashworth again came off at halftime.

 

French attacking midfielder Thibault Candia recorded the third multi-assist game of his UCSB career with his two-assist showing. against UNLV on August 30. In the 88th minute, Sahid Conteh played the ball to the edge of the box on the left side where Candia crossed the ball on a first-time half-volley into the box for ignacio Tellechea to score the equalizer. Later in the game, he delivered a pinpoint corner kick that found Will Baynham in the six-yard box for the game-winner in the 107th minute. Last season, Candia picked up two assists in the Gauchos matches at New Mexico and against Cal Poly en route to leading the team with seven assists.

 

The UC Santa Barbara men's soccer program is debuting a revamped kids zone this season, featuring activities such as futsal, soccer golf, soccer tennis, and obstacle courses, at Harder Stadium prior to every men's soccer home match. The kids zone will be open to season ticket holders, from 6:30 p.m. up to 15 minutes before kickoff, and also at halftime. Fans are encouraged to arrive early as there is limited space for each game and the kids zone will fill up quickly. The play area will be open to children from the ages of 6 to 12. Event staff will be present to supervise the area, but parents/guardians will be required to sign a liability waiver on the first visit. The area will be located at the north end of Harder Stadium near the Gold Zone and Gaucho Fund hospitality area.

 

Single game tickets to UCSB men's soccer matches are on sale now and can be purchased by online at UCSBgauchos.com, by visiting the ticket office, or calling (805) 893-UCSB.. UCSB season tickets, including a parking pass for the 2019 season, are also still available. Plans start at $50, with combo (men's and women's games) and family plans also available. Certain plans also include priority seating for the Stanford and Cal Poly games.

 

UCSB's 2019 schedule is loaded with quality opponents, including six teams that qualified for the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Pac-12 opponents Cal and Stanford highlight the home schedule, visiting Harder Stadium on either end of September. From the ACC, a traditional powerhouse conference in college soccer, Virginia Tech makes the cross-country trip to play UCSB on Sept. 1. A trip up to the Pacific Northwest to face Gonzaga and Oregon State, as well as the Blue-Green rivalry match against Cal Poly, are some of the other highlights of the non-conference schedule. In conference play, the Gauchos' home matches against Sacramento State, UC Riverside, and UC Irvine offers a chance for revenge against a trio of opponents that UCSB only managed to pick up a single point from (2-2 OT draw at UC Irvine) last season. The final three games of the season see the Gauchos hit the road, culminating in the all-important second chapter of the Blue-Green Rivalry at the Alex G. Spanos Stadium in San Luis Obispo.

 

Last season, UCSB finished 9-0-1 at home, good for its best home record since the 2002 Gauchos went 10-0-0. That came a year after the Gauchos went unbeaten in eight of their 10 home matches during the regular season (4-2-4). In the Vom Steeg era (since 1999), the Gauchos boast a hearty .731 winning percentage (147-46-26).

 

The Gauchos were stellar at home, but struggled on the road throughout the 2018 season. An emphatic 7-0 win over Westmont saw the Gauchos reclaim the Bryant and Sons Cup from their loss to the Warriors the year prior. The season began with home wins over St. John's and UC Riverside, in which the Gauchos only gave up one goal. The first road trip of the season saw UCSB get shut out at Portland and Seattle. After winning at home against Butler, the Gauchos picked up their lone non-conference win at New Mexico, 2-1, thanks to a pair of Thibault Candia assists. More trouble on the road would come at St. Mary's, losing a heartbreaker 1-0 in double overtime in the final minute of play. Wins over UCLA and Gonzaga at home ushered in the Big West schedule, but not before a 1-0 loss at rivals Cal Poly. The Gauchos would open Big West play with two losses in three games, an overtime win against Cal State Fullerton being the only exception. A 2-2 draw at league leaders UC Irvine pushed the Gauchos to three home wins in a row, but Fullerton got its revenge by defeating the Gauchos at Harder Stadium on penalty kicks in the first round of the Big West Tournament to bring an end to UCSB's season.

 

UCSB were picked to finish first in the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving 53 points, tallied from the coaches' votes in which teams were ranked from 1-8 and assigned a corresponding point value, two points ahead of second-placed UC Irvine and eight ahead of CSUN. UCSB also received three first-place votes, whereas Irvine received two, and Cal State Fullerton, UC Riverside, and Cal Poly had one apiece.

 

The Gauchos also landed three players on the Big West Preseason All-Conference list. Senior wingback Noah Billingsley earned the distinction for the third time in his Gaucho career, while junior winger Rodney Michael made the list for the second consecutive year. Junior centerback Hunter Ashworth was selected to the preseason list for the first time since transferring from University of San Francisco after the 2017 season.

 

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