SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — For the third year in a row, the UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer team will meet UC Irvine in The Big West Semifinals, as the No. 2 seed Gauchos will host the No. 3 seed Anteaters at Harder Stadium on Saturday night. The home team has defeated the visitor in each of these teams' last two postseason meetings, both by 2-1 scorelines, and Santa Barbara has not lost at home all season.
 
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9 from Harder Stadium, and tickets to the game are on sale now at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets. Students from UC Santa Barbara and any Big West member institution will receive free admission to the game with a valid, current ID. For fans following from afar, the game will be live on ESPN+ with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.
 
REGULAR SEASON RECAP
The Gauchos finished the 2024 regular season with a 10-4-4 record, going 4-2-3 in Big West games and 6-0-3 at home. They started the season hot, losing just one of their first eight games and climbing as high as No. 13 in the national rankings. Santa Barbara's tremendous non-conference campaign included a signature season-opening win over Missouri State that saw Alexis Ledoux score twice and assist a third goal and a gritty 3-0 win over perennial powerhouse Portland, both at home.
 
A Blue-Green Rivalry loss at Cal Poly and two ties in Santa Barbara's first four conference games brought the Gauchos back to earth, and as injuries piled up, Santa Barbara lost its first Big West game of the season at Sacramento State. The Gauchos nearly earned a famous victory over Cal State Fullerton on Senior Night despite being reduced to 10 men but had to settle for a draw. They were cut down to 10 men again just three minutes into the regular season finale at UC Riverside last Saturday and a second conference defeat left The Big West Regular Season Championship a point out of reach.
 
The Gauchos will look to bounce back at Harder Stadium on Saturday, and if they were going to pick a venue to do it, their home pitch would be the top choice. Playing in Santa Barbara, the Gauchos are on an 11-game unbeaten run that dates back to last season, and they are 21-4-7 at home over the last three years.
 
GAUCHOS TO KNOW
Santa Barbara placed a conference-high eight players on All-Big West teams this season, headlined by Big West Offensive Player of the Year Alexis Ledoux. The Frenchman has 14 goals and five assists for a total of 33 points on the season, the second-highest goal and point totals in all of Division I men's soccer this year. Those figures are also eighth and ninth-largest single-season goal and point hauls in Gaucho history respectively. Eleven of Ledoux's 14 goals have come at home, including four in Santa Barbara's last three home games.
 
Mikkel Goeing joins Ledoux on the all-conference first team; the Gauchos could have their Danish midfielder back from a hand injury in time Saturday's game, which would provide a major lift to a bruised midfield corps. Filip Basili was so good filling in for injured members of that midfield that he earned himself a starting spot and an All-Big West Honorable Mention. The Norwegian is enjoying a career year so far, with a goal and five assists in the regular season.
 
Calle Mollerberg and Nicolas Willumsen round out a quartet of all-conference Scandinavians for Santa Barbara. The Swedish Mollerberg has been a crucial piece of the Gaucho defense this season and earned All-Big West Second Team and All-Freshman Team honors. Andrew Kamienski has been equally excellent as Mollerberg's center back partner, but was left off the all-conference list. At the other end of the pitch, the Danish Willumsen has been Santa Barbara's top center forward this year, scoring a career-best five goals, including the game-winner over UC Irvine in the regular season. He earned All-Big West Honorable Mention.
 
At the back, Caden Vom Steeg and David Mitzner both earned honorable mentions as well, and Peleg Brown was named to the All-Freshman Team. Brown was tremendous in his rookie season, starting all but one game at left back and playing the third-most minutes of any outfield player for the Gauchos, but he will miss the semifinal after being sent off in the regular season finale. Vom Steeg, Santa Barbara's starting right back, is one of only two outfield Gauchos to play more minutes than Brown this season, making 16 starts. His creative ability will be key to Santa Barbara's attack on Saturday, and one of his two assists on the season was to set up Willumsen's game-winner in Orange County. As for Mitzner, the Gauchos' co-captain has played every minute between the sticks for Santa Barbara this season and is set to get the start there again on Saturday.
 
SCOUTING THE ANTEATERS
UC Irvine (8-7-3, 4-3-2 Big West) nearly missed the postseason, giving up two goals in the first 10 minutes of their regular-season finale at UC San Diego before rescuing a draw and finishing as the No. 3 seed. In their first-round matchup against Cal State Fullerton, they avenged a 2-0 loss from earlier this year with a 1-0 victory to send their Orange County rivals packing and extend their unbeaten run to seven games.
 
Six Anteaters were named to All-Big West teams this year, with midfielders Agaton Pourshahidi and Mario Anaya and defender Mathias Winum being named to the all-conference first team. Defender Brady Treinen was named to the All-Big West Second Team, while forward Misael Gonzalez earned Honorable Mention and midfielder Marcus Lee was named to the All-Freshman Team.
 
Pourshahidi is the Anteaters' leading goal-scorer this season, putting seven in the back of the net, while Gonzalez is second on the team with five, including Irvine's first-round-winning goal, but they are the only two UCI players with more than two goals on the year. The Anteaters finished the regular season with the fourth-fewest goals scored (22) in The Big West, though they also conceded the fourth-fewest (22), thanks to Winum and Treinen. The All-Freshman Teamer Lee scored twice and played the fifth most minutes of any Anteater this season, while Anaya tallied two assist and the third most minutes.
 
Returning All-Far West Region goalkeeper Luke Pruter did not make an all-conference team, nor did team assist leader Francesco Montanile, as both of them missed significant time with injuries. Montanile has not played since Oct. 9, and Pruter has only appeared in seven of UCI's 18 contests; he was not involved when the Gauchos visited the Anteaters during the regular season, though he will likely get the start on Saturday night.
 
UP NEXT
The winner of Saturday's match will go on to face either Cal Poly or UC Davis in The Big West Championship final on Friday, Nov. 15. The No. 1 seed Mustangs and No. 4 seed Aggies will play their semifinal on Sunday, Nov. 10, and Cal Poly would host the championship match with a win. If the Gauchos defeat UC Irvine and UC Davis upsets the Mustangs, then Santa Barbara would host the championship.