Gauchos denied Big West regular season title but still gets postseason home game

UC RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer team battled valiantly despite having just 10 men on the field for 87 minutes of Saturday night's match at UC Riverside, but the Gauchos could not overcome the numerical disadvantage and fell, 2-0, to the Highlanders. The loss and results elsewhere in The Big West give UC Santa Barbara second place in the conference standings, meaning the Gauchos will host one of The Big West Semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 9.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Santa Barbara was reduced to 10 men after just two and a half minutes, when Peleg Brown was issued a red card — after video review — for taking down a Highlander just outside of the Gaucho penalty area. However, Santa Barbara kept themselves in the game, making a number of forays forward and winning a pair of corner kicks in the first 15 minutes. Nicolas Willumsen nearly put the Gauchos in front with a well-struck free kick 20 yards from goal in the 18th minute, but his attempt went just over the crossbar.

However, just a minute later the evening turned even more sour for Santa Barbara, when a Gaucho turned UC Riverside's own free kick into his own net to put Santa Barbara down a goal. The Gauchos did limit the Highlanders to just one more shot before halftime but were unable to manufacture any more themselves.

Less than a minute after halftime, Riverside scored again to make the margin two goals, making the Gauchos' task even taller. Santa Barbara did give it a go, drawing four corner kicks in the second half, but they only managed two shots at goal in the half, one from Willumsen and another from Alexis Ledoux.

With the Gauchos pushing forward in search of multiple goals, goalkeeper David Mitzner found himself in a few sketchy situations, and the Highlanders had two goals ruled out for offside in the second half. The one other time the flag stayed down, in the 70th minute, Mitzner made a strong save in a one-on-one situation to prevent any further damage. Still, there were no goals for the Gauchos at the other end of the pitch.

Elsewhere in The Big West, CSUN rescued a draw at Cal State Fullerton, where a Titan win would have sent Fullerton above the Gauchos in the standings. Likewise, UC San Diego held UC Irvine to a draw; an Anteater win would have seen them overtake the Gauchos.

BY THE NUMBERS
Since The Big West Championship was first held in 2008, UC Santa Barbara has been the No. 2 overall seed in the conference tournament six times previous, most recently in 2022, after losing the regular season finale in Riverside.
The Gauchos are 5-5-1 all-time in Big West Championship games as the No. 2 overall seed, winning that one draw in a penalty shootout. Santa Barbara won The Big West Championship as the No. 2 seed in the 2010 tournament.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will have a bye in the first round of The Big West Championship and will host their next game at Harder Stadium next Saturday, Nov. 9. Santa Barbara will host one of UC Irvine, UC Davis, Cal State Bakersfield or Cal State Fullerton. Fans can visit ucsbgauchos.com for the most up-to-date schedule and ticket information.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics)