FULLERTON, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer team has reached its final fixture of the regular season with everything still to play for. The Gauchos will pay a visit to Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, where they can claim The Big West Regular Season Title and the top seed in the conference tournament with a win. Santa Barbara comes into the weekend in second place in The Big West standings with 14 points, just two points behind Fullerton. Three points are awarded for a win. The Gauchos have already clinched a spot among the conference's top four teams, but could finish anywhere from first to fourth in the standings, depending on results in Fullerton and elsewhere on Saturday night.
 
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH
The Gauchos and Titans will kick off their Regular Season Title decider at 7 p.m. from Titan Stadium in Fullerton on Saturday, October 28. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Despite having to settle for a draw on the road at CSUN in their last match, UC Santa Barbara got help elsewhere and secured a top-four seed in this year's Big West Championship, meaning they are guaranteed to host at least one playoff game.
 
The Gauchos came from behind twice against the Matadors, getting a second-half equalizer from Alexis Ledoux to knot things up at 2-2, which is how it would finish. Leroy Zeller became the sixth UC Santa Barbara goalkeeper to ever record 200 saves for the Gauchos last Saturday, making three stops, including a clutch one-on-one save in the second half.
 
CHAMPIONSHIP SCENARIOS
UC Santa Barbara is one of four teams to have already secured a place in The Big West Championship, but none of the seeds are set. With a win, the Gauchos would earn the top seed, but with a tie or loss, they could fall as far as fourth, if UC Irvine defeats UC San Diego and UC Davis beats Sacramento State.
 
If the Gauchos lose and the Anteaters and/or Aggies tie on Saturday, the teams will be tied in the conference standings. Normally the tiebreaker would go to whichever team won the head-to-head matchup (meaning if Santa Barbara and UC Davis end up tied, the higher seed would go to the Gauchos), but Santa Barbara and UC Irvine played to a draw this season. The tiebreaker would then be goal differential in conference games, a category in which the Gauchos and Anteaters are currently tied (+2).
If the Gauchos, Anteaters and Aggies are all tied, the highest seed would go to the team with the most points against the others, UC Santa Barbara, which earned a total of four points against UC Davis and UC Irvine. The Aggies would get the next seed by virtue of their win over the Anteaters.
 
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAUCHOS (9-6-2, 4-2-2 Big West)
Before their draw at CSUN last Saturday, UC Santa Barbara looked to be getting hot at just the right time. Still, the Gauchos are 3-1-1 in their last five matches, one of their best runs of form after a slow start to the season. That stretch includes a statement victory at Cal Poly and a 3-0 Senior Night drubbing of Sacramento State.
 
Both of those wins served as the welcome back party for Gaucho captain Lucas Gonzalez, who missed a month of action due to an ankle injury. Santa Barbara's number 10 scored the game-winning goal in his return against Cal Poly, then added another goal and an assist on his Senior Night against the Hornets. On Saturday at CSUN, he scored his third goal in as many games, and he was named Big West Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
 
Gonzalez now leads the team in both goals and assists with five each, providing the focal point to a Gaucho attack that can get goals from pretty much anywhere. Gonzalez is one of eight Santa Barbara players with two or more goals this season, the most multi-goal scorers in the conference. In total, 11 Gauchos have found the back of the net in 2023, the most individual goal-scorers of any team in The Big West.
 
When it comes to keeping opponents out of the net, Santa Barbara has one of their best goalkeepers in program history, Leroy Zeller, ready for one last postseason run. The German became just the sixth Gaucho keeper to record 20 career shutouts against Sacramento State (and is two away from fifth most in program history) and reached the 200 save milestone against CSUN, also becoming the sixth Gaucho to accomplish the feat in their careers. Zeller is eight saves behind fifth all-time.
 
SCOUTING THE TITANS (11-4-3, 5-2-1 Big West)
After winning their first four Big West matches and looking like they would run away with the conference's top seed, there are now question marks surrounding Cal State Fullerton's juggernaut status. The Titans have won just one of their last four matches, and last time out they got walloped by Cal Poly, 5-0, in San Luis Obispo.
 
The Titans' first loss in Big West play came at home against UC Irvine on October 11, only the second defeat they have suffered at Titan Stadium all season. However, after a 1-1 draw against UC Riverside in their last home contest, Cal State Fullerton remains winless on home soil in the month of October.
 
Earlier this season, the Titans ranked as high as No. 13 in the United Soccer Coaches national rankings, a position they earned after an 11-match unbeaten run that included eight straight wins. Star midfielder Roberto Ordonez came alive during that run, scoring or assisting at least one goal in seven consecutive matches, winning three straight Big West Offensive Player of the Week awards during that span. That included a three-goal, two-assist night in the Titans' thrilling 5-4 win over CSUN on September 27. TopDrawerSoccer ranked Ordonez as the No. 1 player in the nation in their mid-season Top 100 last week.