NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara men's soccer team (10-4-4, 6-1-2 Big West) lost 2-0 to CSUN on Saturday night at Matador Field, but still managed to secure the top seed in the upcoming Big West Tournament by virtue of finishing the regular season with a better goal differential than UC Irvine.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• CSUN struck first in the 63^rd minute when John Anderson turned a Brendan Hildreth assist into a long-range goal that hit the crossbar and went in.
• The Matadors doubled up in the 87^th minute when Cooper Wenzel set up Jamar Ricketts inside the penalty area, with Ricketts finding the target with a low shot into the middle of goal.

NOTABLE

• The Gauchos fell just short of recording their first unbeaten season in conference play since 2013.
• UCSB was outshot 14-10 overall and 8-5 in shots on target.
• Freshman forward Salvador Aguilar had two shots on goal, while senior forward Rigoberto Barragan, freshman forward Pablo Figueroa, and junior attacker Diran Bebekian had one apiece.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Leroy Zeller made six saves for Santa Barbara.
• The two teams combined for 35 fouls, but the hosts held a slight edge with 18 to the Gauchos' 17.

UP NEXT

• The Gauchos will face the winner of the first-round matchup between fourth-seeded CSU Bakersfield and fifth-seeded UC Davis at Harder Stadium on Saturday, with the time still yet to be announced. The game will be streamed and live stats will be available.