UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer

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UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
men's soccer
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos wordmark.svg
Founded1966;59 years ago (1966)
University University of California, Santa Barbara
Athletic directorKelly Barsky
Head coach Tim Vom Steeg (25th season)
Conference Big West
Location Santa Barbara, California
Stadium Harder Stadium
(Capacity: 17,000)
Nickname Gauchos
ColorsBlue and gold [1]
   
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Home
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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.

Contents

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

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

Santa Barbara national champions visiting president George W. Bush (who is posing with a #1 shirt with his name) at the White House in 2006 UCSB men's soccer team at the White House 2007-06-18.jpg
Santa Barbara national champions visiting president George W. Bush (who is posing with a #1 shirt with his name) at the White House in 2006

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

Notable former players

Coaching staff

Current technical staff

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

Head coaching history

As of December 2025

Source: [16] [17]

#Nat.NameTenureRecordWin %
1Zolton von Smogyi1966–7132–21–6.593
2Sandy Guess1972–739–13–3.420
3Sandy Guess / Ken Reeves19745–6–4.467
4 Flag of the United States.svg Alan Meeder1975–7842–26–5.610
5John Purcell1979–8015–17–5.473
6Andy Kuenzli1981–8995–64–21.586
7Cliff Draeger1990–9115–20–2.432
8Mark Arya1992–9840–84–6.331
9 Flag of the United States.svg Tim Vom Steeg 1999–Present314–144–66.662

Rivalries

Cal Poly

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

ChampionshipTitle #SeasonRival (final)Score
NCAA tournament
1
 2006 UCLA
2–1

Conference

ConferenceChampionshipTitlesWinning 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
YearStageRivalRes.Score
2002 First round San Diego W2–0
Second round California L1–2
2003 Second roundCaliforniaW2–0
Third round St. John's L2–3
2004 Second round Milwaukee W2–1
Third round UNC Greensboro W1–0
Quarterfinals VCU W4–1
Semifinals Duke W5–0
Final Indiana L1–2
2005 First round San Diego State W2–0
Second round CSU Northridge L2–3
2006 First roundSan Diego State2–1
Second round SMU W3–1
Third round Old Dominion W2–1
Quarterfinals Northwestern W3–2
Semifinals Wake Forest W1–0
Final UCLA W2–1
2007 Second round Washington W1–0
Third round Ohio State L3–4
2008 Second roundCaliforniaL2–3
2009 First round Wofford W1–0
Second roundSan DiegoW1–0
Third roundUCLAL1–2
2010 First round Denver W1–0
Second roundCaliforniaL1–2
2011 Second round Providence W3–2
Third round Creighton L1–2
2013 Second round Penn State L0–1
2015 Second round South Carolina W1–0
Third round Clemson L2–3
2019 First roundCaliforniaW3–1
Second round Saint Mary's W4–0
Third roundIndianaW1–0
QuarterfinalsWake ForestL0–1
2021 First roundUCLAL1–2
2024 First roundUCLAW1–0
Second round Stanford L2–2 (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. 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. 1 2 3 "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. 1 2 "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. 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. 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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