SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Soccer team is set to begin their 2024 season with two home matches next week. The Gauchos will host an exhibition against Trinity Western on Monday, Aug. 12 at 7 p.m. Following the exhibition the Gauchos will start their regular season on Thursday, Aug. 15 against LMU. The game is set to kickoff at 7 p.m.
 
After a 2023 season where the Gauchos fell outside of making The Big West Championships, UC Santa Barbara was selected to finish sixth in The Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll, voted on by the league's 11 head coaches.
 
RETURNERS
The Gauchos return some key pieces in the midfield and on the backline from last year's squad. Emma Corcoran, Kate Killer, Gia Cimring, O'Callaghan Liu and Jessica Carlton will play key roles in getting the Gauchos back to postseason play.
 
"Key returners that jump off the page right away are Emma Corcoran, Calla Liu, Kate Killer, Gia Cimring and Jessica Carlton," said Stumpf. "Corcoran who is playing exclusively as a center-back and will be on the ball a lot in our build this season, is a good defensive player who has the ability to play individual and team defense. Kate Killer is one of our best soccer players and Gia Cimring has found a new home playing more holding center mid this season. Her (Cimring) competitive spirt and toughness is what sets her apart. We need to get our best players on the field and Calla (Liu) being one of them, is going to play a little holding-center mid or outside in the midfield. Jessica Carlton is one of our better soccer players She competes at a high level and has a serious want and desire to win."
 
Also returning for the Gauchos is All-Big West Freshman Team selection, Emily Caughey along with forward Olivia Howard who ranked second on the team in goals, assists and points a season ago as a freshman.
 
NEWCOMERS
The Gauchos are hungry to avenge last season and have made strides over the offseason to take a big step in the right direction. The 13 newcomers look to make an immediate impact on the pitch for the Gauchos.
 
"This is a very talented class and we are very excited about the newcomers," said Head Coach Paul Stumpf. "This was the first recruiting class that Andrew (Montenegro) participated in as a whole. Every one of the student-athletes that we brought in is as good or better than we expected."
 
Devin Greer, Isabella Ong and Chayse Yu will be key pieces for the Gauchos up front. All three have elite finishing abilities paired with their soccer IQ, which should make them a force up front.
 
"Starting up front with Devin (Greer), she is an excellent soccer player and athlete," explained Stumpf. "She can beat people on the dribble and her finishing is very thoughtful. Isabella (Ong) has proven to be an excellent soccer player, and a great athlete and her finishing around the goal is excellent. Chayse (Yu) is the icing on the cake of this recruiting class. She is slippery off the dribble, a good finisher and a tenacious attacker. I think it is important to mention that all of the newcomers are doing very well, but those are just a couple highlights."
 
FORWARDS
It'll be a young set of strikers but the Gauchos are hoping for a plethora of goals upfront. Stumpf and his staff are looking to play in a two-striker system and have four attackers rotate in. Those four will consist of three freshmen and a sophomore.
 
"Oliva Howard had a pretty good spring and will be a significant rotator upfront," Stumpf said. "We are hoping we have four good forwards in our two-striker system. It will probably be Devin, Isabella, Chayse and Olivia, those four are really good rotators and will be dynamic up front."
 
MIDFIELDERS
The midfield should be a strength for the Gauchos during the 2024 season. With a mix of returners and newcomers in competition for spots, UC Santa Barbara will be very dynamic in the middle of the field.
 
"The midfield should be our strength," said Coach Stumpf. "A couple of newcomers that have stood out are Caitlyn Simons and Ava Jarolimek. They both have been great so far in camp. Ava (Jarolimek) is very dynamic, a nice passer of the ball and is picking up our style of play quickly. We have a lot of really nice returners in Hayley Phillips, Samantha Christie, Jessica Carlton and the four others I mentioned earlier. We have a lot of different options as far as rotators in the midfield this season."
 
DEFENDERS
The Gauchos have a lot of depth as far as the backline goes. They are hoping to be about three to four deep at each spot. Familiar faces will hold down the back, but an experienced transfer in Evelyn Arsenault will help elevate the Gauchos defense.
 
"We have a lot to choose from at the moment," explained Stumpf. "The two center backs that are emerging as the strongest are Emma Corcoran and Evelyn Arsenault, a transfer from UConn. Emily Caughey who played a lot of outside back last year will play lot this year. Other names that are emerging in competition are Sofie Rodriguez, Regan Stiner, Erin Ellsworth and Zoe Franks. Zoe (Franks) had a massive growth spurt in the spring and we are very excited about the options we have back there.
 
GOALKEEPERS
The Gaucho coaching staff continues to evaluate all options in goal. A healthy competition between Maddie Buckley, Sabrina Hinz, Morgan Lucich and Kate Willmering will continue over the next week before a final decision is made.
 
"The competition is fierce right now," said Stumpf. "We don't know yet who it's going to be. Last year a lot of people got opportunities because of injuries, I hope that that doesn't happen again. I want a great competition and everyone to stay healthy, but right now I can't say for certain who is number one. We are going to get three games on film this next week and hopefully that helps us narrow down."
 
GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS
Despite missing out on The Big West Championships last season, the Gauchos have fully put that in their rearview mirror and are ready to make a deep postseason run under Stumpf once again.
 
"Our goals from year to year remain pretty similar," Stump said. "First, we need to get ourselves back into The Big West Championships. To do so we will have to climb about three or four spots in the rankings this year, which is very doable for us based on the team we have put together. Once we get into the Championships, we hope to be healthy and give ourselves a chance of winning the Championship match."
 
The student-athletes have already built a solid foundation together through preseason training. With this, the coaching staff hopes this could propel them into an even better team through the course of the season.
 
"Everything I have heard from within the team is that the chemistry and culture is in a very good place right now," explained Stumpf. "Good chemistry and culture can make a team perform even better than their potential. We are going to work hard to keep that going, but right now it feels pretty good."
 
FOLLOW ALONG
The Gauchos match against Trinity Western on Monday, Aug. 12 will begin at 7 p.m. The match will not be streamed but fans who are unable to attend in person can follow live stats at ucsbgauchos.com. As for the match against LMU on Thursday, Aug. 15, the event will be streamed through ESPN+ with live stats also available.