NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer team will start its final road trip of the regular season on Saturday, October 21, as the Gauchos head to CSUN for a match against the Matadors. UC Santa Barbara comes into the weekend knowing that a win in Northridge, regardless of results elsewhere, would give them a chance to claim The Big West Regular Season Title in the season finale at Cal State Fullerton.
 
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH
The Gauchos and Matadors will kick off at 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 21 from Matador Soccer Field in Northridge. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with live stats available on ucsbgauchos.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Santa Barbara celebrated Senior Night on Wednesday at a foggy Harder Stadium. The gloom did nothing to dampen the mood though, as the Gauchos controlled the full 90 minutes en route to a 3-0 victory over Sacramento State. Mikkel Goeling scored two of the three Santa Barbara goals, and Leroy Zeller made four saves to earn his 20^th career shutout.
 
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAUCHOS (9-6-1, 4-2-1 Big West)
UC Santa Barbara has found its stride recently, winning four of their last five matches, including a 1-0 victory on the road at Cal Poly last Sunday. The Gauchos are now in sole possession of second place in The Big West, only three points behind leaders Cal State Fullerton.
 
Goalkeeper Leroy Zeller and the defense in front of him have played a big part in Santa Barbara's recent good form. The Gauchos have not allowed more than one goal in any of their last six matches and did not concede at all in three of those, including their last two. Zeller's four saves on Wednesday night brought his career total to 199, the sixth-most in UC Santa Barbara history. Zeller also ranks sixth for career clean sheets by a Gaucho, with 20.
 
In attack, Santa Barbara has been boosted by the return of captain Lucas Gonzalez. The redshirt junior number 10 scored the winner against Cal Poly last Sunday, then assisted and scored again on Wednesday night. With four goals and five assists on the season, Gonzalez now leads the team in both categories, with a team-high 13 points. Nemo Philipp and Mikkel Goeling, who scored a brace on Wednesday, each also have four goals on the season. Philipp set up Goeling's opener against the Hornets for his fourth assist of the season.
 
SCOUTING THE MATADORS (4-6-6, 2-3-2 Big West)
CSUN may only have four wins on the season, but two of those came in their last two matches, and the Matadors are not to be underestimated. Their resume includes an impressive start to the season to go along with their recent uptick in form, as the Matadors beat then-No. 12 San Diego on the road and earned a 1-1 draw with UCLA in Westwood three days later to begin September. They played a thrilling, back-and-forth goal-fest of a game against conference leaders Cal State Fullerton, falling by a 5-4 scoreline, and found a way past UC Irvine's staunch defense in Irvine for their first conference victory.
 
CSUN swept The Big West Player of the Week Awards last week, with freshman goalkeeper Merrick Cook earning both Freshman of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week honors and junior forward Jamar Ricketts taking home the Offensive Player of the Week award.
 
Ricketts leads The Big West in shots on target with 20 this season, scoring eight goals, one shy of the conference lead. He also ranks fourth in the conference with five assists and second in total points, behind only the likely Player of the Year Roberto Ordonez. Three of CSUN's four wins have come thanks to a Ricketts goal.
 
Cook has started each of CSUN's last four games in goal, helping his team to two wins and two draws, totaling 11 saves and a 0.72 goals-against average.