After grabbing just one spot in the NCAA Tournament last season, the 2007 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament will feature two clubs as #7 UC Santa Barbara and #25 UC Davis were selected into the 49th national tournament. First round play is scheduled to begin Friday at 16 campus sites around the country, with the last four clubs standing in the single elimination tourney heading to Cary, N.C., for the College Cup December 14-16 at SAS Soccer Park.
#7 UC Santa Barbara (12-3-4, 9-1-2 Big West) will be making their sixth-straight and seventh overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. UCSB received a #12 seed and a first round bye, its first since 2004. The Gauchos will host the winner of Friday's match between Portland and Washington. The Pilots finished the season with a 10-5-5 overall record and a third place finish in the West Coast Conference at 6-2-4. The host Huskies enter postseason play with an overall record of 8-7-4 and finished fifth in Pac-10 play at 3-4-3.
UCSB, the defending national champion, enter the postseason with an seven-match unbeaten streak (6-0-1), playing their best soccer of the season. Offensively, UC Santa Barbara is a balanced club loaded with scoring options. Junior forward Chris Pontius leads the Big West in goals (11) and points (24), while talented sophomore transfer Ciaran O’Brien has picked up seven goals and a conference-best nine assists for 23 points. Throw in the talents of 2007 Hermann Award candidate junior Eric Avila (4g, 8a), senior Tino Nunez (5g, 5a) and sophomore Alfonso Motagalvan (4g, 4a) and UCSB has a ton of weapons opposing defenses have to account for.
Defense delivered the Gauchos a title in 2006 and has been a huge part of their success in 2007. The conversation starts with three-time All-America and two-time Hermann Award candidate senior Andy Iro. Rountinely assigned to the opposition's top forward, Iro is part of a defense that has allowed just 19 goals in as many matches, including just 11 in 12 conference matches. The defense isn't just limited to Iro as senior Greg Curry, sophomore Jon Curry, senior Brennan Tennelle and freshman Michael Boxall have been instrumental parts of UCSB's backline. The man in net is fresman Bryant Rueckner, who delivered a solid season after redshirting a year ago. He tallied a 0.95 goals against average, 50 saves and shut out five opponents.
#25 UC Davis is a first time participant in the NCAA Tournament as the Aggies were given an at-large bid in their first season as a member of Division I. Their last NCAA appearance came in 1999 at the Division II level. UCD is pitted in a first round matchup against Pac-10 champion #22 California with the winner to travel across the country to Blacksburg, Va., for a match against #11 seed Virginia Tech.
UC Davis is a prolific offensive soccer club, scoring a league-high 43 goals and ranking in the top 10 in scoring nationally for most of the season. Sule Anibaba (8g, 1a) is the leading scorer for the Aggies, but senior Nicholas Lind (5g, 4a) and sophomore Paul Marcoux (5g, 3a) are dangerous in the attack as well. In all, nine UC Davis players scored at least two goals and six players tallied 10 or more points.
With its uptempo style, defense will be key in UC Davis' postseason run. Senior Paul Cain is the top defender for the Aggies, while juniors Jordan Vanderpoorten and Jake Mogelson and freshman Christopher Beville are also top notch defenders. Between the pipes, two players have seen time this season. Senior Brian Wickers appeared in 12 matches, with 11 starts, and posted 1.72 goals against average, 38 saves and two shutouts. Freshman Ryan McCowan saw action in nine matches with eight starts, posting a 1.15 goals against average and 23 saves.
The Golden Bears, who are in the tournament for the second consecutive season, won their second consecutive Pac-10 title after going 6-3-1 in league play and 11-5-2 overall. A year ago, California claimed a #13 seed in the tournament and made it to the round of 16.
The Golden Bears are led offensively by Andrew Wiedeman who collected 16 points on a team-high six goals and four assists. Javier Ayala-Hil was California’s second leading scoring with 11 points (3g, 5 a), while Andrew Jacobson pitched in three goals and three assists for nine points. The Golden Bears are a strong second half team as well, outscoring their opponents 15-6 after intermission and out-shooting foes 131 to 109.
While 22nd-ranked California scored only 22 goals in 18 matches, its defense more than made up for it by allowing only 12 scores during the regular season. Tyler Barry, Evan Sassano, Luke Sassano and Kyle Rice form a solid backline that is capable of clearing away offensive attacks. The man in net is Stefan Frei, about as dependable of a backstop as you can find. He has started in all 18 matches this year for the Golden Bears, posting a 0.64 goals against average, 79 saves and posting nine shutouts.
The Big West performed well against the Pac-10 and West Coast Conference this season, posting a combined record of 5-2-3 against the two conferences. Portland is the lone squad to play against a Big West team this season, tying a match against UC Davis, 3-3, September 9 and picking up a 4-3 victory over Cal Poly November 16.
PACIFIC 10 - (3-0-2)
Aug. 31 - UC Santa Barbara 2, at Stanford 2 (2OT)
Sept. 3 - UC Riverside 2, at San Diego State 0
Sept. 7 - at UC Davis 3, Oregon State 1
Sept. 29 - at Cal State Northridge 3, UCLA 0
Sept. 29 - UC Irvine 0, at San Diego State 0 (2OT)
WEST COAST - (2-2-1)
Aug. 31 - at UC Irvine 1, Gonzaga 0
Sept. 1 - Cal Poly 1, at Loyola Marymount 0
Sept. 1 - Gonzaga 1, UC Santa Barbara 0
Sept. 9 - Portland 3, at UC Davis 3 (2OT)
Nov. 16 - Portland 4, at Cal Poly 3