• The Schedule
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. PT
No. 24 UC Santa Barbara (7-2-2, 2-0) at CSU Bakersfield (2-7-1, 0-2)
at Main Soccer Field in Bakersfield, Calif.
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
Saturday, October 8, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. PT
No. 24 UC Santa Barbara (7-2-2, 2-0) vs. Cal State Fullerton (6-4-2, 1-1)
Hispanic Heritage / Gauchos Give Revolution League Night
at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
• Perfect Start to Big West
No. 24 UC Santa Barbara has gotten out to a 2-0 start to Big West play, defeating UC San Diego 1-0 in last Wednesday's conference opener and CSUN 4-0 three nights later, tied for its largest win of the season. Finn Ballard McBride led the Gauchos on offense, accounting for three of UCSB's five goals on his way to player of the week recognition at both the national and conference levels. Santa Barbara also notched back-to-back shutouts for the first time this year, resulting in goalkeeper Leroy Zeller's (7 saves) first career Big West Defensive Player of the Week award.
• Back in the Top-25
The Gauchos enter the second week of Big West play with a No. 24 National Ranking (United Soccer Coaches). UCSB has received votes every week since the preseason, initially cracking the top-25 with a No. 18 national ranking for the week following Sept. 5-11.
• Cal State Competition
On Wednesday, the Gauchos play their Big West road opener against a CSU Bakersfield team that owns a 2-7-1 overall, 0-2 conference record. UCSB is 3-1 all-time against the Roadrunners, having defeated them 3-0 at Harder Stadium last year in CSUB's first year competing in the Big West. On Saturday, the Gauchos return home to face Cal State Fullerton on Hispanic Heritage / Revolution League Night. The Titans (6-4-2, 1-1) are fresh off a 1-0 home victory over Bakersfield and are 0-4-1 against the Gauchos since 2017.
• McBride Officially in Stride
In case you were wondering why Finn Ballard McBride is the Big West's two-time defending scoring champion, his performances this past week should have provided sufficient explanation. After injuries slowed him down to start the year, head coach Tim Vom Steeg mentioned that he has been waiting for his star forward to get going, and that's exactly what he did in the opening week of Big West play as he led the conference with three goals.
Finn was the only goalscorer in UCSB's 1-0 win over UC San Diego on Wednesday, converting a penalty kick in the 24th minute for his third game-winning goal of the season. Against CSUN, he had his most impactful game of the year, beating multiple defenders with a world class move as he went for goal late in the first half and tapping in a rebound late in the game to secure the third brace of his Gaucho career.
Ballard McBride was named the Big West Offensive Player of the Week for the second time and earned National Team of the Week honors from College Soccer News. He is now UCSB's leading goalscorer with six goals this season, averaging .545 per game, and he now sits at 24 career goals, just one shy of the UCSB all-time top-10.
UCSB Dominating Big West Weekly Awards
The Gauchos have now won six of the 12 Big West Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week awards handed out this season. Salvador Aguilar leads the team with three offensive selections and Ballard McBride owns the other. Henry Davies and Leroy Zeller both have one Big West Defensive Player of the Week honor.
• Lucas Gonzalez Named to National Team of the Week
After being held out for UCSB's first two games of the season due to injury, redshirt sophomore Lucas Gonzalez has been outstanding wherever he has operated on the field. He recorded an assist in each of his first four games, and four weekends ago, the Long Beach, Calif. native contributed to three of UCSB's eight goals, resulting in National Team of the Week recognition from College Soccer News.
In his first four games, the talented midfielder already surpassed his offensive totals from last season. He is currently tied for fourth in the Big West with four assists.
• Henry Davies Earns First Career Big West Defensive Player of the Week Award
Reigning conference Defensive Player of the Year Henry Davies was named the Big West Defensive Player of the Week for the first time on Monday, Sept. 12 after not only leading UCSB's back line to great success, but being responsible for starting many of the Gauchos' offensive attacks. In the Gauchos' 5-1 win over Utah Valley, Davies found himself in the right place to head in the game's opening goal off a set piece from the corner, giving him his first of the season. He is the only Gaucho other than Aguilar to earn conference Player of the Week honors and the first on the defensive end.
• Air Aguilar
6-foot-2, 175-pound Salvador Aguilar tore up defenses with his aerial prowess this season, leading to three Big West Offensive Player of the Week selections. He began the year by becoming the first Gaucho since 2018 to score in the first two games of the season, with a 75th minute goal at then-No. 19 Missouri State and a game-winner against Cal Baptist. From Sept. 17-24, he enjoyed a majestic stretch of dramatic goals, scoring an unbelievable 88th minute equalizer against Grand Canyon, a classic 90th minute winner at Cal Poly, and a 3rd-minute stunner against then-No. 5 Stanford.
The former San Jose Earthquakes Academy standout joins Nick DePuy (2015) and Luis Silva (2011) as the only Gauchos to win Big West Offensive Player of the Week three times in the same season. He is the fifth Gaucho ever to earn Big West PotW honors four different times in a career, trailing only DePuy (6) for the program's all-time record.
• Stellar Zeller
At 6-foot-5, 205 pounds, imposing junior Leroy Zeller is able to cover a lot of ground. Head coach Tim Vom Steeg has lauded the German goalkeeper for his increased maturity in handling the position over the past year, and the on-field results have been palpable. Zeller just led the Gauchos to back-to-back shutouts for the first time in 2022 with seven saves in the opening week of conference play, leading to his first career Big West Defensive Player of the Week award. His .756 save percentage currently ranks second in the Big West.
• Unbeaten August
UCSB went unbeaten in its first two regular season matches and two exhibitions in August, outscoring opponents by a total of 11-2. The Gauchos equalized late to take a 1-1 tie at No. 19 Missouri State in their season-opener on Aug. 25 and defeated California Baptist 2-0 at home three days later.
• Starting Strong
The Gauchos are unbeaten in their last 11 season-openers with a 9-0-2 record since 2011.
• Season Preview: Defending Champs to Bring Talent and Excitement Back to Harder
Coming off a year where he felt his team far exceeded expectations, head coach Tim Vom Steeg has set the bar for his 2022 Gauchos significantly higher. It will be an intriguing challenge to watch for a team that not only scored 44 goals in 2021 – 11 more than any other school in the conference – and was one of just two Big West schools to allow fewer than a goal per contest, but that also returns 10 of its 11 primary starters from last season.
Adding depth in specific areas was Vom Steeg's offseason focus, and he feels the team's needs have been met with the resulting mix of new offensive playmakers, midfield talent and additional defenders. Check out the 2022 season preview for a full breakdown of this year's Gauchos.
• Preseason Coaches' Poll Favors Gauchos
The Big West Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll is putting last year's Big West champs and Big West runner-ups in the same boat, as UCSB and UC Irvine tied for the most All-Preseason Team selections (3) as well as points (71), although the Gauchos took six first-place votes to the Anteaters' three. Finn Ballard McBride, Henry Davies and Thaabit Baartman were all voted to the Big West Preseason Coaches' Team.
• Gauchos in the Pros: 2022 USL Outings and MLS Updates
Among the current players competing professionally in USL League Two for the Gauchos this past summer were Lucas Gonzalez, Finn Ballard McBride and Alexis Ledoux. Read about their exploits as well as other former members of the program who continue playing at a high level on the USL and MLS fronts here.
• 2021 Recap
UC Santa Barbara was neck-at-neck with UC Irvine during the conference season, as both teams shared the top record during Big West play at 6-1-2 heading into the playoffs. However, they couldn't have looked more different in the final match of the conference tournament, as the Gauchos capped off a magical run with a 4-0 thrashing at Harder Field, the most lopsided win in Big West Championship game history. Despite injuries that could have easily derailed the season, UCSB won its first tournament championship since 2010 and second ever, clinching the program's 14th NCAA Tournament berth since 2002.
Nine Gauchos were named All-Conference, including Big West Defensive Player of the Year Henry Davies and fellow First Teamer Finn Ballard McBride, whose nine goals led the conference for the second straight season. As a team, UCSB finished 12th in the nation in goals (44), 14th in shutouts (9) and 16th in goal differential (+24).
• The Vom Steeg Files
Tim Vom Steeg is in his 24th 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 14 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 heading into the 2022 season stands at 285-129-56 (.688).
