UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer |
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Founded | 1966 | ||
University | University of California, Santa Barbara | ||
Conference |
Big West North Division |
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Location | Santa Barbara, California | ||
Head coach | Tim Vom Steeg (17th year) | ||
Stadium |
Harder Stadium (Capacity: 17,000) |
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Nickname | Gauchos | ||
Colors | Blue and Gold |
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NCAA Tournament Champions | |||
2006 | |||
NCAA Tournament Runner Up | |||
2004 | |||
NCAA Tournament College Cup | |||
2004, 2006 | |||
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal | |||
2004, 2006 | |||
NCAA Tournament Round of 16 | |||
2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015 | |||
NCAA Tournament Appearances | |||
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015 |
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team is a 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.
Since 2007, the Gauchos have been recognized every year by the NCAA as the men's attendance champions by average attendance (Division I, II, and III) – the longest such recorded streak in the NCAA record books. Additionally, 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). 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.
The team is most famous for winning the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. It was a finalist in the 2004 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, losing in penalties. The program has produced a total of 19 All-American selections, all but one of which since 2002, and over 40 players who have gone on to play professionally or represent their senior national teams.
UC Santa Barbara fielded its first men's soccer team in 1966, but they didn't compete in the Big West Conference until 1983. The Gauchos had mixed success, with good seasons (1983, 1988) alongside bad seasons (1991, 1992), but never found prolonged stretches of success or failure.
The Big West Conference stopped sponsoring men's soccer after the 1991 season, but re-instituted it prior to the 2001 season. 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.