Men's Soccer 11/13/2026 9:00:00 PM

No. 4 Seed Cal State Bakersfield Wins 2026 Men’s Soccer Championship, the First Big West Team Title in Any Sport for Roadrunner Athletics

2026 Big West Men's Soccer Championship Final - No. 4 seed Cal State Bakersfield 5, No. 3 seed UC Santa Barbara 1

No. 4 seed Cal State Bakersfield (7-4-7) defeated No. 3 seed UC Santa Barbara (9-6-5) by a final score of 5-1 in the 2026 Big West Men's Soccer Championship Final, Friday at Harder Stadium. It is the first ever Big West team title in any sport for the Roadrunner athletics department.

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Cal State Bakersfield earns The Big West automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Men's Soccer Division I Championship field, and will learn their seed and first round opponent on Monday, Nov. 16 at 10 a.m. PT on ncaa.com.

The Roadrunners have scored the most goals in a game in a Big West Championship history with five.

Filip Arras put Cal State Bakersfield in front in the sixth minute off a set piece, then UC Santa Barbara's Steinar Bjornsson converted a penalty kick in the 26th minute to tie the match at 1-1.

The Roadrunners responded and moved back ahead with consecutive scores. In the 33rd minute, Oshea Foster found the back of the cage off Justin Knighton's assist and Joey Velasquez added another goal in the 34th minute as Cal State Bakersfield carried a 3-1 lead into halftime.

Cal State Bakersfield created the first push of the second half, as Jesse Wangusi scored in the 58th minute off a Velasquez’s helper to move the score to 4-1. UC Santa Barbara pressed after that with repeated shots and corner kicks, but Zenden Hart saved an attempt at in the 69th minute and another in the 79th minute as the Roadrunners kept the margin intact.

Cal State Bakersfield put the exclamation point on the game as Lorimer Bouman assisted Mpawenayo Jackson’s goal in the 85th minute to account for the final score and finished the match with a 5-1 win.

The Roadrunners delivered an efficient attacking performance, putting seven shots on frame, scoring three times in the first half and adding two goals in the second. UC Santa Barbara generated a 23-14 shot advantage, while Cal State Bakersfield limited the Gauchos to three shots on goal and withstood a second-half stretch from between the 58th minute to 70th minute with 13 UC Santa Barbara attacking actions without conceding.