The Schedule
Friday, September 17, 2021 at 7:00 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara (3-2-1) vs. No. 12 Loyola Marymount (5-0-1)
All-time record vs. the Lions (W-L-T): 19-14-2
Last meeting: Sept. 21, 2016: LMU 4, at UCSB 3
Video | Live Stats
Tuesday, September 21, 2021 at 6:00 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara (3-2-1) at No. 20 Oregon State (4-1-0)
All-time record vs. the Beavers (W-L-T): 1-2-1
Last meeting: Sept. 15, 2019: UCSB 3, at Oregon State 2
Video | Live Stats
• Video Stream Available
Both games this week will be broadcast online. The contest against Loyola Marymount will be streamed on UCSBGauchos.com with the "Voice of the Gauchos" Gerry Fall on play-by-play and Ben Callon on color. The matchup at Oregon State will be streamed on Oregon State's Pac-12-hosted livestream channel.
• It Gets Tougher
UCSB readies itself to face a pair of teams it's had some recent run-ins with. Although the last time UCSB and LMU played each other in the regular season was in 2016, a 4-3 win for the Lions with future Gaucho Sahid Conteh scoring the opening goal, the two teams faced each other both in the 2019 preseason and 2021 spring. The latter served as a warm-up match for LMU heading into the NCAA Tournament as the unbeaten West Coast Conference champions, in which it fell to Marquette in the opening round on penalty kicks. The Lions have kept up the momentum, entering the week on a six-game unbeaten run in the 2021 fall season ranked 12th in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 and 15th in the United Soccer Coaches list. Piecing the spring and fall seasons together, LMU is now 11-0-4 in 2021 dating back to its 1-0 win over UCLA on Feb. 12. Oregon State, UCSB's Tuesday opponent, comes into the weekend ranked 20th in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25, dropping from the 12-spot after losing 1-0 at home to Grand Canyon. The Beavers will not take the field this weekend, facing the Gauchos in the midweek matchup after 11 days of rest.
• The Gaucho Rewind – Week Two
Game 5: UCSB 1, Colgate 0 (2OT): The Gauchos heavily outshot Colgate and were finally rewarded with their first away win against an east coast opponent since 2015 when Rene Pacheco scored the game-winner in double overtime.
Game 6: Cornell 4, UCSB 3 (2OT): The blue and gold suffered a heartbreaking loss to Cornell in an otherwise exhilarating match, in which the Gauchos came back from a 1-0 deficit and lead twice before the Big Red staged a comeback of their own to take the game in the 103rd minute of play. Goals from Salvador Aguilar, Lucas Gonzalez, and Finn Ballard McBride gave UCSB its best output of the season in a loss, but it ultimately wasn't enough to take the win.
• Pacheco Becomes Second Gaucho to Pick Up Big West Weekly Honor in 2021
Freshman forward Rene Pacheco Big West Freshman Player of the Week honors after a goal and an assist in the Gauchos' pair of east coast games against Colgate and Cornell, the Big West Conference announced on Sept. 13. Pacheco scored the game-winning golden goal in double overtime at Colgate on Sept. 10, following up on a parried Henry Davies shot to give the Gauchos their third win of the season. In UCSB's 4-3 double overtime loss at Cornell on Sept. 12, Pacheco assisted on the third goal, finding sophomore attacker Finn Ballard McBride up the field with a long ball. The Santa Barbara native now has two goals and an assist on the year, with his previous goal coming in the season-opening 7-1 win against San Diego.
• Muntari Earns Pair of Awards in First Week of Play, Gillingham Named to Honorable Mention List
Senior forward Ameyawu Muntari was named the first Big West Offensive Player of the Week and UCSB Student-Athlete of the Week of the 2021 season on Aug. 30. Muntari scored scored back-to-back goals in the 66th and 73rd minutes of the Gauchos' season-opening contest against San Diego, first dancing around a USD defender in the penalty area before thumping it into the roof of the net on the right side of goal. His second goal came on a free kick that he fired into the top left corner.
Senior centerback William Gillingham was an Honorable Mention addition to the Top Drawer Soccer Week Two Team of the Week for his efforts in helping a defense that allowed just two goals in its opening two games and for scoring the equalizer in UCSB's 1-1 draw against Cal on Sunday night.
• Ballard McBride, Carson Vom Steeg Honored Among All-Big West Preseason Selections; Gauchos Share Top Spot in Coaches Poll
The UC Santa Barbara men's soccer team landed two players on the 2021 Big West Men's Soccer Preseason All-Conference Team and tied with UC Davis for first place in the league's preseason coaches poll.
Finn Ballard McBride – 2021 Men's Soccer Preseason All-Conference
Ballard McBride was UCSB's fourth-ever player to make it onto a freshman All-America list after Top Drawer Soccer listed him on its team at the conclusion of the 2019-20 season. The Big West Conference recognized the newcomer as its freshman of the year, UCSB's ninth in the past 11 seasons, joining a long list that began with Michael David in 2009 and included Rodney Michael in 2017 and Ben Roach in 2018. The Australian tied for the Big West lead in goals with nine, seeing just under half of his 20 shots reach the back of the net. He ranked second in the conference with 20 points at the end of the season after tacking on two assists to his goal tally. Six of his nine goals came against Big West opponents, two of which were game-winners, and he also scored against then-No. 1 Stanford on Sept. 28.
Carson Vom Steeg – 2021 Men's Soccer Preseason All-Conference
In his UCSB career, Vom Steeg has played in 13 games, starting 11 and scoring one goal. The Santa Barbara, Calif. native sat out the 2019-20 season due to injury. This season, he will make the change from defensive midfielder to centerback for the blue and gold. Prior to UCSB, he was a member of Stanford's 2017 NCAA College Cup-winning squad.
In the preseason coaches poll, UC Santa Barbara finished in a tie atop the table with defending Big West Tournament champions UC Davis. Both teams finished on 89 points with three first-place votes.
• Caden Vom Steeg Recognized in Best XI
Freshman defender Caden Vom Steeg was recognized by US Youth Soccer as a member of the Best XI in the 18-and-under boys age group at the 2021 US Youth Soccer National Championships in Bradenton-Sarasota, Fla. The San Marcos HS product played at the club level for Santa Barbara Soccer Club.
• The Vom Steeg Files
Tim Vom Steeg is in his 23rd season of an illustrious career at the helm of the UCSB men's soccer program. After never having qualified for the NCAA Tournament prior to 2001, Vom Steeg has turned the Gauchos into contenders anually, taking UCSB to the dance 12 times since his hiring. He led the program to its first College Cup in 2004 and its first National Championship in 2006. He is a two-time NSCAA National Coach of the Year ('04, '06), and is tied for the most Big West Coach of the Year awards in league history with five, including the 2015 honor. He is the winningest coach in UCSB and Big West men's soccer history. Vom Steeg became UCSB's winngest coach in 2005, earned his 200th overall win in 2013, and triumphed for the 100th time in Big West action during the 2015 season. In 2018, UCSB's 3-1 win over UC Riverside was his 250th career win. His overall record currently stands at 276-126-53 (as of Sept. 16, 2021).
Season tickets are currently on sale for the 2021 men's soccer campaign at UCSBGauchos.com.
UCSB is moving to mobile ticketing beginning this season. For more information, click here.
