PORTLAND, Ore. (Aug. 30, 2023) — The UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer team will hit the road for the first time this season on Friday, traveling to the Rose City to take on No. 6 Portland before returning home to host UNLV on Monday, September 4.
 
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH
The Gauchos and Pilots will kick off at 7 p.m. from Merlo Field at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex in Portland on Friday. For those following from afar, the game will be live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available through ucsbgauchos.com.
 
Monday's match against UNLV will kick off at 7 p.m. at Harder Stadium. For those unable to attend in person, the game will be live on ESPN+ with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Santa Barbara earned their first win of the season on Monday, bouncing back from a second-half deficit to defeat Pacific, 4-2, at Harder Stadium. Eddie Villeda, Haruki Utsumi and Kenny Villatoro each scored their first goals as Gauchos, with Villatoro's proving to be the match winner.
 
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAUCHOS
UC Santa Barbara comes into the weekend with a 1-1 record, having suffered a defeat on opening night to the now-No. 25 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles before earning their win over Pacific. The Gauchos have been picked to finish first in The Big West this season, and placed a conference-best three players on The Big West Preseason Team: Leroy Zeller, Alexis Ledoux and Lucas Gonzalez. This year's roster features ten newcomers, including Division II All-Southeast Region midfielder Mikkel Goeling.
 
SCOUTING THE PILOTS
Portland jumped up the rankings from No. 13 to No. 6 after thumping Sacramento State in their season opener, 3-0. Pilot defender Kevin Bonilla provided two assists and helped his team keep the shutout, earning him a spot on both the TopDrawerSoccer and College Soccer News National Teams of the Week. Bonilla is also one of four Pilots who were named to the All-WCC Preseason Team, along with Jacob Babalai, Nick Fernandez and Sebastian Nava. Portland are favorites to win the West Coast Conference title.
 
SCOUTING THE REBELS
UNLV comes into the weekend with an 0-1 record following their season-opening defeat at UC Irvine, but the Rebels will host Santa Clara on Thursday before visiting the Gauchos. UNLV finished 2022 with just one win, and the Rebels were picked to finish eighth in the nine-team WAC Preseason Poll this year. Their roster has plenty of fresh faces, with 16 newcomers joining the team for their 2023 campaign.