Two NCAA Tournament clubs, a repeat Big West Tournament champion and records galore highlighted a successful 2009 men's soccer campaign for the Big West Conference.
NOTEWORTHY
#3 UCI vs. #1 UCSB Championship Recap
The rematch of the inaugural final from 2008 had nearly the same outcome as third-seeded UC Irvine posted a 4-1 victory over #1 UC Santa Barbara. The Anteaters had topped the Gauchos in last year’s final by a 4-2 count at Anteater Stadium. This time around, UCI controlled the tempo from the get-go and picked up a pair of goals in the first 30 minutes of the match. In all, four different 'Eaters accounted for the goals, while Andrew Fontein was stellar in net with six saves. The physical match saw UCSB play a man down after a foul in the 37th minute, then play two men down after a foul in the 87th minute.
UCI's Aguilar Claims Tournament MVP
UC Irvine's Carlos Aguilar claimed the 2009 Big West Tournament Most Valuable Player award after having a hand in four of UCI's six goals in the tourney. In the semifinal against Cal Poly, Aguilar scored twice, including converting the game-winner on a penalty kick in double overtime. In the final against UC Santa Barbara, Aguilar scored on another penalty kick and assisted on the first goal of the match. He also was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week for his efforts in the Big West Tournament.
UCSB Wins Big West Regular Season Crown
UC Santa Barbara continued to be the flagship team of the Big West as the Gauchos won the regular season title for the sixth time since the league reinstated men's soccer in 2001. In all, UCSB's six regular season championships is the most in Big West history, surpassing former member Fresno State's total of five regular season crowns. In addition, the Gauchos' eight conference wins tied for the third-most victories in a 10-game conference season in Big West history, while their .850 winning percentage in conference matches is also tied for the third-best in Big West lore.
Two Teams Selected for NCAAs
The Big West continued its reputation as a top-flight NCAA men’s soccer league as two clubs were selected to participate in the NCAA Tournament. Conference tournament champion UC Irvine made it two NCAA trips in a row, while at-large selection UC Santa Barbara gained entry to the race for the national championship for the eighth consecutive season. UCI claimed the #16 seed in the tourney, but fell in the second round to Stanford by a 1-0 final. Meanwhile UCSB played three matches in the NCAA Tournament, defeating Wofford and #11 seed San Diego by identical 1-0 scores before falling to #6 seed UCLA by a 2-1 count.
Hayden Dazzles Between the Pipes
UC Santa Barbara goalkeeper Sam Hayden had an impressive debut season at the DI level, notching an impressive 16 shutouts and posting an 0.74 goals against average. Hayden's shutout total is a Big West single season record, while the junior's goals against average mark is the seventh-best single season mark in conference history. Hayden was respondsible for all 16 shutouts by the Gauchos this year, a figure which set a team single-season Big West record.
The Career of Kim
Cal State Northridge's Sunghyun Kim was an under the radar star for the Matadors during his four-year career in the black and red. Kim amassed 19 goals and 21 assists for 59 points over his 77-game tenure as a CSUN player, consistently proving his offensive mettle from either the forward or midfield spots. Kim’s 21 career assists ranks eighth in conference history, while he was the first four-year player to claim All-Big West honors in each of his four seasons since Andy Iro of UC Santa Barbara did it from 2004-07.
15 is a Nice Number
Winning 15 matches is a great season for a club, but to have two teams in 15 games is something that is rare in Big West history. This season marked only the second time in league history that two clubs, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara, won at least 15 matches. The only other season was back in 1985 when two former members, Fresno State and UNLV, each won 15 or more matches.
UCI's Garcia Makes his Mark
UC Irvine's Irving Garcia may have only been around the Big West for two seasons, but goalkeepers around the league and nation will certainly remember his exploits. The native of San Luis, Ariz., was a two-time first team All-Big West choice and named the league's Offensive Player of the Year this season after leading the conference in points (25), tying for the lead in assists (9) and third in goals (8). In his 45-game UCI career, Garcia amassed 15 goals and 18 assists for 48 points, a 1.07 points per game average and was twice named first team All-Big West.
Gimme Three
The Big West was on a hat trick drought prior to the 2009 season, but that drought turned into a deluge as three players all tallied three-goal games. The barrage started with Cal Poly's Junior Burgos who picked up a trifecta of goals in the Mustangs' 3-2 win over Cal State Fullerton October 14. Then Burgos’ teammate David Zamora accomplished the feat 10 days later against Cal State Northridge. Finally UC Irvine's Amani Walker put three in the back of the net just four days later against CSF. In all the Big West went 260 days between Burgos' hat trick and the previous one in 2007, but the trio of three-goal games happened in just a span of 14 days.
Vom Steeg Stands Alone in Big West Lore
Now in the 11th year at the helm of his alma mater, UC Santa Barbara head coach Tim Vom Steeg has achieved a major Big West milestone this season. Thanks to the Gauchos' 1-0 win over Cal Poly on October 7, Vom Steeg is now the all-time winningest coach in Big West lore, passing former Fresno State manager Jose Elgorriaga's total of 126 wins. Vom Steeg is already the career leader in league-only triumphs, posting his 60th career win against Big West foes with the Gauchos’ victory against UC Irvine on September 27. He is the lone coach in Big West history to post 60+ wins in conference play and 120+ overall wins during league membership.
Turnaround by CSF
Cal State Fullerton may have just missed out on the postseason, but the Titans had plenty of highlights in a solid bounceback year. After going just 19-35-5 in coach Bob Ammann's first three seasons, including a 5-14-1 mark last year, the Titans rebounded in '09 to the tune of an 8-9-2 mark. In addition, after winning just eight conference matches since 2005, CSF posted a respectable 4-5-1 mark against Big West opposition this year. Cal State Fullerton showed signs of a big turnaround coming in ‘09 as the club downed Penn State 2-1 in overtime in its season opener. The win was the program's first over a BCS school on the road since 2001.
CSUN Back Among Contenders
Cal State Northridge reintroduced itself to the Big West and nation this season as Terry Davila's charges had a solid campaign. The club won 10 matches for the first time since 2005, handed regular season champion UC Santa Barbara its lone regular season league loss and defeated eventual NCAA Tournament clubs Loyola Marymount and Tulsa. Davila earned Coach of the Year honors for leading the group back to prominence.
Another Big Crowd for Central Coast Rivalry
The scoreless tie between UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly on November 4 was witnessed by 9,824 fans at Spanos Stadium in San Luis Obispo, the second-largest crowd in the Big West and NCAA this season. The attendance figure is also the seventh-largest in NCAA regular season history and the third time in the last five meetings between the two rivals that the crowd has exceeded 9,000 spectators. In fact, of the 10 largest crowds in NCAA regular season history, four of them have involved the matchup between the Gauchos and Mustangs.
UCSB Sets Attendance Record
UC Santa Barbara's average home attendance of 4,335 this season set a new NCAA record, topping the unofficial record of 4,297 set by Connecticut in 1982. UCSB also had the largest home crowd in the NCAA this season as 10,114 showed up for a nationally televised win over Indiana on October 2.