IRVINE, Calif. -- The fields and seeds are set for the 2022 Big West Men’s Soccer Championship after Saturday’s five matches to conclude the regular-season slate.
 
UC Riverside (6-7-4, 5-2-2 Big West, 17 points) is the No. 1 seed in The Big West Championship. With the regular season title on the line, the Highlanders defeated UC Santa Barbara 4-1 Saturday night to claim the top seed. It is UC Riverside’s first regular season title in a single-division format as well as No. 1 seed. UC Riverside earns a bye and will host one leg of the semifinal round on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. and the finals if they are fortunate enough to come out on top. 
 
The Gauchos (9-3-6, 4-1-4 Big West, 16 points), the defending winners of the championship, are the No. 2 seed. In a three-way tie, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, and CSUN all ended the season with 16 points. The Gauchos came out on top in a tiebreaking procedure, first comparing head-to-head records against one another. They and the Anteaters were both 1-0-1 and the Matadors were 0-2. In the next step comparing goal differential, UC Santa Barbara was +7 and UC Irvine was -1. The Gauchos earn a bye and will host the other leg of the semifinal round, also on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m.
 
UC Irvine (5-11-2, 5-3-1 Big West, 16 points) takes the No. 3 spot, as it defeated CSUN 2-1 on Oct. 22 to break the tie between the two teams. The Anteaters came into the final weekend with a berth in the championship secured and defeated UC San Diego 1-0 to get even with UC Santa Barbara in points. With a four-match unbeaten streak, UC Irvine will host No. 6 seed Sacramento State (9-7-2, 4-5 Big West, 12 points) on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. The Hornets wrangled away the final spot from Cal State Fullerton (8-6-5, 3-3-3 Big West, 12 points) by virtue of a head-to-head 1-0 road win on Oct. 22. It is Sacramento State’s first appearance in the championship since 2017.
 
CSUN (8-5-4, 5-3-1 Big West, 16 points) is the No. 4 seed. The Matadors had already locked up a spot in the championship going into the final match and defeated the Titans 1-0. CSUN will host No. 5 seed UC Davis (5-8-4, 4-3-2 Big West, 14 points) on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. The Aggies secured a spot in the championship with a 2-1 victory over Causeway rival Sacramento State in a must-win scenario.  
 
The finals of The Big West Championship will be hosted by the remaining top seed on Saturday, Nov. 12, with David Gascon (play-by-play) and Christian Miles (color) on the call on ESPN+. The Big West champion once again earns automatic entry into the 2022 NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship. The field for that event will be unveiled live on NCAA.com on Monday, Nov. 14, at 10 a.m. PT.
 
All six games of the 2022 Big West Men’s Soccer Championship are scheduled to air live on ESPN+; check listings for specific information.