KANSAS CITY, Mo. — United Soccer Coaches announced the 2025 men's soccer all-region teams on Tuesday, naming UC Santa Barbara's Calle Mollerberg to the All-Far West Region First Team and Owen Beninga to the All-Far West Region Second Team. It is a second consecutive regional honor for Mollerberg and a first for the freshman Beninga, one of only six rookies to earn all-region honors anywhere in the country. Both are now up for All-America consideration.
 
The Gauchos' captain and ironman in 2025, Mollerberg played more minutes than anyone else in Blue and Gold, starting all 20 matches and anchoring a Santa Barbara defense that kept nine clean sheets and finished as one of the top back lines in the country. On Selection Sunday, the Gauchos ranked 32^nd nationally in shutout percentage and 47^th in goals-against average. Mollerberg and the back line also helped Santa Barbara finish Big West play without a loss, part of a 13-game unbeaten streak, the longest under head coach Tim Vom Steeg and second-longest in program history. Mollerberg himself was named The Big West Defensive Player of the Year for his contributions, which also included helping the Gauchos reach their second consecutive conference championship match and third in five years. In The Big West Semifinal against UC Davis, he scored his first career goal to kick-start the comeback which ended with Santa Barbara claiming a 3-2 win.
 
Behind Mollerberg and the back line, the Gauchos also had one of the best goalkeepers in the country in the freshman Beninga. One of two rookies to earn All-Far West Region honors, Beninga won the starting job halfway through the campaign and kicked off his Gaucho career with five straight shutouts, including a real "Welcome to the NCAA" moment in the Blue-Green Rivalry, where he dominated in the air and earned Big West Defensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors. By season's end, Beninga had seven shutouts to his name, an 88.5 save percentage, good for second in the country, and a program record 0.52 goals-against average, which ranked fourth among all Division-I keepers.

The nine shutouts that Mollerberg and Beninga helped keep are tied for the seventh-most in a single season in program history. The Gauchos finished with a 7-5-8 record, going 4-0-5 in Big West play to earn The Big West Regular Season Championship. Santa Barbara reached and hosted The Big West Championship Final for the second consecutive season.