BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer team heads inland for its first conference road match of the season on Wednesday, visiting Cal State Bakersfield in what will be a crucial Big West contest. After their meeting, both the Gauchos and Roadrunners will already be halfway through their conference slate for the season, as The Big West's partnership with the Pac-12 has both conferences at just seven teams, meaning only six games for each squad to make its case for the four-team conference tournaments. Santa Barbara and Bakersfield are both unbeaten through their first two Big West games, with the Gauchos holding a slight edge in the standings thanks to Saturday night's win, while the Roadrunners settled for a pair of draws.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Santa Barbara enters Wednesday night's match atop The Big West table, with four points from a possible six after two conference matches — already a third of their conference contests in the new-look Big West. After a disappointing draw against Sacramento State in which Santa Barbara had 23 shots but only scored from the penalty spot, the Gauchos responded by scoring three times, twice from open play, to hand Utah Valley its first loss of the season on Saturday night. Donovan Sessoms delivered his best statistical performance since arriving in Santa Barbara, with two goals and an assist against the Wolverines. His usual strike partner, Steinar Bjornsson, is available for selection on Wednesday after missing Saturday due to a red card suspension, though Sessoms thrived while partnered with freshman Gunnar Franke, who played the big, physical thunder role to Sessoms' slick-dribbling lightning in his first career start.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Cal State Bakersfield drew both of its first two Big West matches of the season last week, both by 2-2 scorelines and both on the road, and sits in third entering Wednesday night's fixture. With a draw at UCLA and a win at Cal Poly earlier this season, the Roadrunners' resume looks pretty neat entering Wednesday night's action, and the Gauchos have toiled on previous visits to Bakersfield, winless in their three previous visits. In fact, Santa Barbara has not beaten the Roadrunners on any field since 2021.
 
This year, the Roadrunners are led by returning veterans Oshea Foster, Zenden Hart and reigning Big West Defensive Player of the Week Filip Arras, though he earned that award for his contributions to the attack, scoring two goals and assisting one more last week.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from CSUB's Main Soccer Field in Bakersfield. Fans can also catch the action live on ESPN+ and follow along with live stats and play-by-play updates through ucsbgauchos.com.