NCAA Soccer: UCSB Men lose crucial game at Irvine
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) -
Big West Men's Soccer: UC Irvine 1, UCSB 0: The Gauchos can no longer finish as one of the top two teams in the Big West regular season so UCSB will have to go on the road for the Big West Championship. UCSB is currently third in the standings behind UC Irvine and Utah Valley.
Shane Kaemerle scored the lone goal of the match in the 17th minute for UC Irvine (10-5-2, 4-1-1).
UCSB (8-4-4, 2-1-2) outshot the Anteaters 16-8 in the loss.
The Gauchos return to Santa Barbara for their final two matches of the season next week. First, the Gauchos will host California Baptist on Tuesday, Oct. 27 in a match that was rescheduled from Oct. 21 due to inclement weather. On Saturday, Oct. 31, Santa Barbara hosts CSUN for Senior Night and the regular-season finale.
Big West Women's Soccer: Utah Valley 4, UCSB 0: The Gauchos had their 13-match home unbeaten streak come to a crashing end by allowing 4 second half goals. UCSB is 8-4-4 on the season and 3-3-3 in the Big West. The Wolverines (11-4-3, 7-0-2) outshot UCSB 26-8.
UC Santa Barbara now finds themselves battling for a spot in The Big West Championships. The Gauchos are currently in a five-way tie for fourth place in the conference. Of the five teams tied, only three will find their way into the tournament.
UC Santa Barbara will play a pivotal match next Wednesday night in Northridge, California. The Gauchos and Matadors will at 7 p.m. at the Matador Soccer Field.
Pac-12 Men's Soccer: Gonzaga 1, Cal Poly 0: A seventh-minute goal from defender Terry Watson marked the difference Saturday evening as the Cal Poly men's soccer program sustained a 1-0 loss at Gonzaga.
Gonzaga (5-8-3, 1-4-0) produced Saturday's game-winning goal with the evening's first shot on target as a free kick by midfielder Dylan Cantafio from the left side of the Mustang penalty box was headed down and fell for Watson, who flicked past Cal Poly goalkeeper Matthew Guerra at the right post for the lead.
Guerra finished with a career high seven saves – including three in the first half to keep matters close.
Cal Poly (6-6-5, 1-2-2) tested Gonzaga goalkeeper Chema Preciado twice with junior midfielder Colin Pearce turned away in the 31st minute and forward Charlie Hogan stopped on 79 minutes.
Cal Poly also saw a 76th-minute Hogan goal chalked off as – following a video review – a Mustang foul was judged to have taken place in midfield that negate the score.
Up Next: Cal Poly closes the regular season when hosting UC Riverside on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
Pac-12 Update: With Saturday's loss, Cal Poly stayed on five points in the Pac-12 standings, but slipped a point behind fourth-place UC San Diego for the final spot in the four-team Nov. 7 and 13 Pac-12 Tournament. The Mustangs will need to defeat UC Riverside (also on five points) in the regular season finale to qualify for the conference tournament.
Guerra's seven saves Saturday surpassed his previous collegiate best of six set during a 2-1 home win against UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 25).
(Information provided by UCSB and Cal Poly Athletics).
