UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
men's soccer
Founded1966 (1966)
UniversityUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
Athletic directorKelly Barsky
Head coachTim Vom Steeg (25th season)
ConferenceBig West
LocationSanta Barbara, California, US
StadiumHarder Stadium
(capacity: 17,000)
NicknameGauchos
ColorsBlue and gold[1]
   
Home
Away
NCAA tournament championships
2006
NCAA tournament runner-up
2004
NCAA tournament College Cup
2004, 2006
NCAA tournament Quarterfinals
2004, 2006, 2019
NCAA tournament Round of 16
2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2019
NCAA tournament appearances
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2024
Conference tournament championships
2010, 2021
Conference Regular Season championships
2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2025*

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team is an NCAA Division I college soccer team composed of student-athletes attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Gauchos play their home matches at Harder Stadium. Like most of the other UC Santa Barbara Gauchos athletic teams, the men's soccer team competes in the Big West Conference.

The UCSB Gauchos won the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. The program has produced 19 All-American selections, all but one of which since 2002, and over 60 players who have gone on to play professionally or represent their senior national teams.[2]

Each season from 2007 to 2015, the Gauchos were recognized by the NCAA as the men's attendance champions by average attendance (men's and women's inclusive across Division I, II, and III) – the longest such recorded streak in the NCAA record books.[3] The program holds the top six all-time NCAA soccer records for largest regular season attendances at on-campus venues (men's and women's inclusive across Division I, II, and III).[4][5] This is highlighted by the top all-time mark of 15,896 fans packed into Harder Stadium on September 24, 2010, when UC Santa Barbara hosted UCLA for their regular season match, despite the Santa Barbara County Fire Marshal turning fans away at the gates for fear of filling the stadium over capacity.[6][7][8]

History

See also: List of UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer seasons

Humble beginnings

UC Santa Barbara fielded its first men's soccer team in 1966 but didn't compete in the Big West Conference until 1983.[9] The Gauchos had mixed success, with good seasons (1983, 1988) alongside bad seasons (1991, 1992), but never found prolonged stretches of success or failure.[10]

The Big West Conference stopped sponsoring men's soccer after the 1991 season but re-instituted it before the 2001 season.[9] During this period, UCSB competed in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The return of soccer to the Big West Conference marked the rough beginning of the Gauchos' greatest success to date.[9]

Vom Steeg era

In January 1999, UC Santa Barbara's athletic director, Gary Cunningham, was successfully able to hire former UCSB and professional soccer player, Tim Vom Steeg, away from Santa Barbara City College to lead the Gauchos' program.[11][12] The Gauchos won the 2001 Big West Conference championship for the first time in their history, but missed out on a trip to the NCAA Tournament since the Big West Conference was ineligible for an automatic bid.[13] UC Santa Barbara have won eight Big West regular season championships (2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014) and have won the Big West tournament in 2010.[10]

2004 NCAA Championships

The Gauchos burst onto the national scene in 2004 during their run at the 2004 NCAA Championship. The showing in this tournament established UC Santa Barbara as a force in college soccer, with UCSB marching to the finals before losing out on penalties to Indiana.

2006 NCAA Championships

Main article: 2006 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team

The crowning achievement of the men's soccer program took place in 2006, when UCSB won the NCAA Division I Championship in a 2–1 decision over UCLA. It marked the program's first championship and only the university's second athletics championship (1979 Men's Water Polo).

At one point during the season, UCSB's record stood at 7–6 with dim prospects for postseason glory. However, a 5–1 stretch to close the regular season raised morale. The Gauchos made the NCAA Tournament as an unseeded team. During their championship run, the unseeded Gauchos defeated San Diego State at home, then #1 ranked/#3 seeded SMU followed by Old Dominion on the road, and finally Northwestern before an NCAA season-high 8,784 people at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara. This propelled the Gauchos into the Final Four and earned them a trip to the College Cup held at Hermann Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.

UCSB needed extra time to defeat #2 seed Wake Forest 0–0 (4–3 on penalties) in their first match of the College Cup. The final was a matchup between Southern California teams as UCLA advanced on a 4–0 win over Virginia. The 8th-ranked and seeded Bruins served as the final team to fall to the Gauchos by a score of 2–1 to complete UCSB's magical season.

Players

Current squad

As of August 22, 2025[14]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  ENG Luke Skinner
2 DF  JPN Haruki Utsumi
3 DF  USA Cole Harris
4 DF  SWE Calle Mollerberg
5 MF  GER Mika Ney
6 MF  FRA Justin Gomes
7 FW  SLE Buba Fofanah
8 MF  USA Ramses Martinez
9 FW  DEN Nicolas Willumsen
10 FW  ISL Steinar Bjornsson
11 MF  USA Kaden Standish
13 MF  USA Ethan Senter
14 DF  DEN Jacob Blach
15 FW  USA Owen Wall
16 DF  USA Keaton Fargo
17 MF  USA Dominick Phanco
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF  USA Jacob Medina
19 DF  USA Drew Kamienski
20 MF  USA Jack Middleton
21 FW  USA Mateos Carvalho
22 FW  USA Ocean Salari
24 MF  USA Eddie Villeda
25 FW  USA Isaiah Barber
26 GK  USA Dylan Hotaling
27 FW  CAN Chris Oginni
28 DF  CAN Colby Renton
29 GK  USA Owen Beninga
31 DF  USA Kevin Brown
33 FW  USA Zac Siebenlist
77 DF  ISR Peleg Brown
85 MF  NED Thomas Noordegraaf

Notable former players

Coaching staff

Current technical staff

As of August 22, 2025[15]
Position Name
Head coach Tim Vom Steeg
Associate head coach Greg Wilson
Goalkeeper coach Matias Fernandez
Assistant coach Carson Vom Steeg

Head coaching history

As of December 2025

Source:[16][17]

# Nat. Name Tenure Record Win %
1 Zolton von Smogyi 1966–71 32–21–6 .593
2 Sandy Guess 1972–73 9–13–3 .420
3 Sandy Guess / Ken Reeves 1974 5–6–4 .467
4 Alan Meeder 1975–78 42–26–5 .610
5 John Purcell 1979–80 15–17–5 .473
6 Andy Kuenzli 1981–89 95–64–21 .586
7 Cliff Draeger 1990–91 15–20–2 .432
8 Mark Arya 1992–98 40–84–6 .331
9 Tim Vom Steeg 1999–Present 314–144–66 .662

Rivalries

Cal Poly

Main article: Blue–Green Rivalry

Chosen as the #1 "Greatest Rivalry In College Soccer" by CollegeSoccerNews.com, the main rival of the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos soccer team is the Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer team.[18] The rivalry is a part of the larger Blue–Green Rivalry, which encompasses all sports from the two schools. With both schools located on the Central Coast less than 100 miles apart, attendance has risen dramatically following the Gauchos' 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. The crowds of these games are record-setting and are among the highest regular-season games in NCAA college soccer history.

Titles

Sources:[19][20]

National

Championship Title # Season Rival (final) Score
NCAA tournament
1
 2006 UCLA
2–1

Conference

Conference Championship Titles Winning years
Big West Tournament
2
 2010, 2021
Regular season
12
 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2025[n 1]
Notes
  1. ^ Title shared with UC Irvine and Cal Poly

NCAA appearances

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 23–13–1 through fifteen appearances.[21]

Key
Year Stage Rival Res. Score
2002 First round San Diego W 2–0
Second round California L 1–2
2003 Second round California W 2–0
Third round St. John's L 2–3
2004 Second round Milwaukee W 2–1
Third round UNC Greensboro W 1–0
Quarterfinals VCU W 4–1
Semifinals Duke W 5–0
Final Indiana L 1–2
2005 First round San Diego State W 2–0
Second round CSU Northridge L 2–3
2006 First round San Diego State 2–1
Second round SMU W 3–1
Third round Old Dominion W 2–1
Quarterfinals Northwestern W 3–2
Semifinals Wake Forest W 1–0
Final UCLA W 2–1
2007 Second round Washington W 1–0
Third round Ohio State L 3–4
2008 Second round California L 2–3
2009 First round Wofford W 1–0
Second round San Diego W 1–0
Third round UCLA L 1–2
2010 First round Denver W 1–0
Second round California L 1–2
2011 Second round Providence W 3–2
Third round Creighton L 1–2
2013 Second round Penn State L 0–1
2015 Second round South Carolina W 1–0
Third round Clemson L 2–3
2019 First round California W 3–1
Second round Saint Mary's W 4–0
Third round Indiana W 1–0
Quarterfinals Wake Forest L 0–1
2021 First round UCLA L 1–2
2024 First round UCLA W 1–0
Second round Stanford L 2–2 (5–6 p)

References

  1. ^ "UCSB Color". Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  2. ^ "Nick DePuy Named All-American, Becomes Fourth Gaucho Ever to Earn First Team Status". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. December 11, 2015. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  3. ^ "Men's Soccer Attendance Records: Annual Home Attendance Champions" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 5. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  4. ^ "Men's Soccer Attendance Records: All-Time Largest Crowds" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 7. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  5. ^ "Women's Soccer Attendance Records: Game Attendance Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 6. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  6. ^ Keh, Andrew (November 2, 2010). "Surge in Attendance at Men's College Games". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  7. ^ Eskilson, J.R. (September 20, 2012). "Men's College Preview: The Great Cal Rivalry". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  8. ^ Punzal, Barry (September 20, 2012). "It's the main event: UCSB vs. UCLA at Harder Stadium". presidiosports.com. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c "Big West Conference Men's Soccer Records" (PDF). bigwest.org. December 2014. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  10. ^ a b "Big West Conference Men's Soccer Records" (PDF). bigwest.org. December 2014. pp. 2–3. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  11. ^ "Tim Vom Steeg – Men's Soccer". DARE. UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. 2013. p. 39. Archived from the original on April 19, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  12. ^ "Friday's Sports Transactions". Associated Press. January 16, 1999. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  13. ^ "Men's Soccer Claims Big West Championship With 2-0 Shutout Of UC Irvine". ucsbgauchos.com. November 16, 2001. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  14. ^ "2025 Men's Soccer Roster". ucsbgauchos.com. Retrieved August 22, 2025.
  15. ^ "2025 Men's Soccer Roster Men's Soccer Coaching Staff". ucsbgauchos.com. Retrieved August 22, 2025.
  16. ^ Men's soccer record book (2024) at ucsbgauchos.com
  17. ^ US Sports Camps and The Soccer Academy Announce New Partnership at ussportscamps.com. 27 Jan 2014
  18. ^ "The Fourteen Greatest Rivalries In College Soccer". collegesoccernews.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  19. ^ 2025 men's soccer standings at bigwest.org
  20. ^ USA - List of NCAA College Soccer Conference Champions (Men) by Dave Litterer at the RSSSF
  21. ^ "Division I Men's Soccer Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
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