NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Soccer team heads to CSUN on Thursday, Nov. 6 to take on the Matadors in the semifinal Round of The Big West Championships. The Gauchos defeated UC Irvine 1-0 last Sunday to advance in the bracket.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos lone goal in the win against UC Irvine came in the 52^nd minute off the boot of Emily Caughey, her second goal of the season and third career. In goal, Maddie Buckley recorded her eighth shutout of the season and 18^th career. The Gauchos have now reached the semifinal round of The Big West Championships in three of the last five years.
 
SCOUTING THE MATADORS
CSUN ended the regular season as the No. 1 seed and will host both semifinal round games and the championship. The Matadors last played a week ago and sit 8-7-4 overall and finished 6-1-3 in The Big West, with their lone loss coming against the Gauchos.
 
Following the regular season, CSUN had five student-athletes named to All-Big West teams. Midfielder Paige Califf and defender Sydney Lipkin were named to the first team, while goalkeeper Riley Liebsack and forward Cailey Jackson were named to the second team. Freshmen Alex Valente was named to the All-Freshman team as well.
 
The Matadors leader, Gina Brewer was named the 2026 Big West Coach of the Year following the Matadors regular season championship and their 6-1-3 finish.
 
THE BRACKET
Should the Gauchos advance on Thursday night they would take on the winner of Cal Poly versus Cal State Fullerton on Sunday at 1 p.m. for The Big West Championship and an automatic qualifying spot to The NCAA Tournament.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
UC Santa Barbara and CSUN will kick off on Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Northridge, California. For those unable to make the trip down the game will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available.