University of California, Santa Barbara

 

This is UCSB Soccer

No longer only a top program on the west coast, UC Santa Barbara has emerged as one of the premier college soccer programs in the nation. Located in sunny Santa Barbara, California, UC Santa Barbara exists as an ideal location for both academic and athletic interests. In just over 15 years, the UC Santa Barbara men’s soccer program has won 10 Big West Championships, 10+ top-25 NSCAA/United Soccer Coaches final rankings, 13 NCAA tournament appearances, 2004 NCAA National Finalists, 2006 NCAA National Champions, and 2019 NCAA quarterfinalists.

The recent success of the UC Santa Barbara soccer team can be attributed largely to the coaching of head coach Tim Vom Steeg. After coaching at Santa Barbara City College, where he acquired a record of 121-18-4, Vom Steeg became UC Santa Barbara's Head Coach in 1999. In just 15 seasons at the helm of UC Santa Barbara soccer, head coach, Vom Steeg has compiled 4 Big West Coach of the year honors (2004, 2005, 2010, and 2013) and two NSCAA National Coach of the Year honors (2004 and 2006). In addition to these honors, he has compiled 8 Big West Championships, 12 NCAA tournament appearances, a 2004 NCAA National Finalist, 2006 NCAA National Championship and a 2019 Elite 8 appearance. In culmination with Coach Vom Steeg’s esteemed assistant coaches, the UC Santa Barbara soccer team looks poised for long-term future success.

UCSB Coaching Staff
Coaching Highlights:
10 Big West Conference Titles (2001, 02, 04, 06, 07, 09, 10, 13, 14)
12 NCAA Tournament Appearance (2002-11, 13, 14, 15, 19)
4 Big West Coach of the Year honors (2004, 2005, 2010, 2014)
NSCAA National Coach of the Year (2004 and 2006)

Tim Vom Steeg, Head Coach
Gregory Wilson, Associate Head Coach
David Elias, Assistant Goalkeeping Coach
Christy Gates-Bowes, Assistant Coach

Founded in 1969, the Big West soccer conference consists of UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, Cal State Bakersfield, and UC San Diego. The conference has claimed 19 team national championships in its history, including six in women’s volleyball, two in baseball, one in softball and one in men’s basketball. Men’s soccer was the newest sport added to the list when UC Santa Barbara claimed the national title in 2006.

Santa Barbara

Nestled between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, Santa Barbara exists as an ideal location for anyone residing. Whether you enjoy going to Santa Barbara’s extensive beaches, hiking among its beautiful mountains, or enjoy shopping on State Street, Santa Barbara is the place for you. With its extensive beachfront real estate, UC Santa Barbara possesses one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation. Isla Vista, the square mile area adjoining UC Santa Barbara’s campus, exists as a student-friendly residential area in which a majority of the population are students. As both a place to live and learn, Santa Barbara is the ideal place to be.
 
Gaucho Locos

The Gaucho Locos, founded in 1998, are the student supporters of all UCSB athletics. For home soccer games, the Locos are seated right along the sideline of Harder Stadium. The Locos also make the annual trip to support the Gauchos when they play at Cal Poly. 

The Gaucho Locos are the heart and soul of the record crowds at Harder Stadium.

Gauchos Who Represent their Country 
United States National Team
Chris Pontius - 2017 Gold Cup winner
Dan Kennedy - called into camp
 
U-20 Youth National Team
Sam Garza
Eric Avila
Dom Sarle
Hunter Ashworth 
Mateo Restrepo Mejia
Rodney Michael
Sahid Conteh - called into camp
Alan Carrillo
Faouzi Taieb
Carson Vom Steeg
 
U-17 Youth National Team
Bryan Dominguez
Danny Barrera

Canada National Team
Rob Friend- 28 caps, 2 goals
Tyler Rosenlund- 1 cap
 
U-17 Youth National Team
Andrew Proctor
Miles Davis
Steven Sosa
Chris Schwandt

New Zealand National Team
Tony Lochhead - 33 caps, on the 2010 World Cup squad
Michael Boxall - played in all 3 games at the 2008 Olympics
Neil Jones - 2 caps, 2 goals
Noah Billingsley - 2
Hunter Ashworth

 
Record-Breaking Attendances

The UCSB men's soccer team has one of the best followings in the nation. Harder Stadium saw more than 70,000 fans walk through the gates for the 2010 season. The Gauchos boasted the nation's best per-game average of 5,873 fans; 2,660 fans greater than the next highest college program. The Gauchos set the all-time NCAA regular season on-campus attendance record when 15,896 fans witnessed the home team beat UCLA 2-0 in September 24, 2010.

Harder Stadium has seen five of the all-time top 10 NCAA regular season attendances:
15,896 – UCLA at UC Santa Barbara – Sept. 24, 2010
13,822 – Cal Poly at UC Santa Barbara – Nov. 4, 2011
13,772 – San Diego at UC Santa Barbara – Sep. 23, 2011
13,467 – Cal Poly at UC Santa Barbara – Oct. 19, 2012
12,805 – Cal Poly at UC Santa Barbara – Nov. 9, 2013
 
Honor Roll
All-Americans
(1970) Dave Hollingsworth
(2002) Rob Friend
(2002) Memo Azarte
(2002) Alan Keely
(2003) Memo Azarte
(2004) Drew McAthy
(2004) Tony Lochhead
(2004) Dan Kennedy
(2004) Tyler Rosenlund
(2004) Andy Iro
(2005) Andy Iro
(2006) Eric Avila
(2006) Andy Iro
(2007) Andy Iro
(2007) Ciaran O’Brien
(2008) Chris Pontius
(2010) Michael Boxall
(2011) Luis Silva
(2015) Nick DePuy
(2019) Noah Billingsley 
 
Big West Offensive Player of the Year
(1988) Chris John
(2001) Rob Friend
(2002) Rob Friend
(2003) Memo Azarte
(2004) Drew McAthy (Co-Offensive)
(2007) Chris Pontius
(2010) Sam Garza (Co-Offensive)
(2014) Nick Depuy
(2015) Nick Depuy
(2016) Nick Depuy
 
Big West Defensive Player of the Year
(2001) Reuben Bates
(2004) Tony Lochhead
(2005) Andy Iro
(2006) Andy Iro
(2007) Andy Iro
(2009) Martin Hedevag
(2010) Michael Boxall
(2011) James Kiffe
(2014) Kevin Garcia- Lopez
(2019) Noah Billingsley
 
Big West Midfielder of the Year
(2007) Ciaran O’Brien
(2009) Danny Barrera
(2010) Danny Barrera
(2011) Luis Silva
(2012) Nic Ryan
(2016) Kevin Feucht
(2019) Thibault Candia
  
Big West Goalkeeper of the Year
(2003) Dan Kennedy
(2004) Dan Kennedy
(2006) Kyle Reynish (Co-Goalkeeper)
(2009) Sam Hayden
(2010) Sam Hayden

Big West Freshman of the Year
2002 Alan Keely
2004 Andy Iro
2005 Eric Avila
2009 Machael David
2010 David Opoku
2012 Ema Boateng
2013 Ismaila Jome
2014 Axel Mendez
2015 Geoffrey Acheampong
2017 Rodney Michael
2018 Ben Roach
2019 Finn Ballard McBride

Academic Excellence

The University of California, Santa Barbara offers one of the most unique academic experiences in the world. Its top-ranked academic programs and 1,055-acre ocean-side campus wedged between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean attract more and more students each year. UCSB offers over 200 unique majors, degrees and credentials that span the school's five colleges. Five Nobel Prize winners make up the university's world-class staff. U.S. News & World Report recently ranked UCSB as the 5th best public university. Newsweek listed UCSB in its "American's 25 Hottest Colleges." Students at UCSB get all the benefits of a large university without having to give up the intimate classroom setting. The faculty to student ratio is 17:1 and over 49.3% of all undergraduate courses enroll less than 20 students.