The championship match of the 2009 Big West Tournament is set for Saturday at 7 pm as #3 UC Irvine travels to #1 UC Santa Barbara in a rematch of the 2008 final. The winner receives the automatic berth into the NCAA Championship.
NOTEWORTHY
Big West Tournament Final
It’ll be a flip flop of the 2008 final as top-seeded UC Santa Barbara and #3 UC Irvine meet on Meredith Field at Harder Stadium for the 2009 Big West Championship match. A year ago, the two teams met at Anteater Stadium in the inaugural league tournament final, a 4-2 victory by UCI. The two previous meetings this season have both been won by the Gauchos, both by the slimmest of margins. On September 27, UCSB’s Waid Ibrahim converted a penalty kick in the 21st minute for the game-winner in a 1-0 final. On Halloween night, UCSB notched another 1-0 victory in Irvine as Tim Pontius scored the lone goal in the 103rd minute. Saturday’s winner receives the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. This is the ninth meeting of the two teams since the 2006 season with UC Santa Barbara holding a 6-3 edge. In fact, last season marked the first time in the all-time history between the two clubs that UC Irvine had beaten UCSB twice in a season.
#4 CSUN vs. #1 UCSB Semifinal Recap
It took a lot of defense and ironically enough a defender to give top-seeded UC Santa Barbara a berth in the Big West Championship match. The Gauchos used a goal by defensive standout Michael Boxall in the 72nd minute to claim a 1-0 victory over #4 Cal State Northridge in a league tournament semifinal. It was Boxall’s first goal of his UCSB career. The Matadors outshot the Gauchos 13-12 and got seven saves from Michael Alabos, but could not find the answer to get back UCSB keeper Sam Hayden. CSUN wraps up its season with a 10-8-2 mark, while UCSB improves to 15-3-2.
#3 UCI vs. #2 CP Semifinal Recap
Third-seeded UC Irvine and #2 Cal Poly battled in a double overtime thriller, but in the end it was the Anteaters who claimed a spot in the Big West final thanks to a 2-1 victory. UCI controlled the run of play with a 21-6 shot advantage and a 10-3 edge in corners, but Cal Poly’s Patrick McLain was stellar in net with a career-best eight saves. The Mustangs’ David Zamora scored a world class goal in the 30th minute as he wrapped the ball around an 'Eater wall and into the left corner on a free kick, but UCI’s Carlos Aguilar scored twice, including converting the game-winning penalty kick in the 103rd minute, to send the club to the championship match. Despite the loss, Cal Poly tied its best finish in the Big West (second) and tied its top victory total in league matches (six).
Hayden Close to Shutout Mark
UC Santa Barbara goalkeeper Sam Hayden continued his stellar 2009 season between the pipes with his 14th shutouts in UCSB's Big West Tournament semifinal win over Cal State Northridge. His 14 clean slates establishes a UCSB single season record and ties the Big West single season mark. Also, the 14 shutouts as a team is just one off the 2004 Gaucho squad for the most in a single season in conference history.
Once...Ok Twice
In the short history of the Big West Tournament, UC Irvine players have already managed to stand out for their scoring ability. Of the three multi-goal games in league tourney history, two have been recorded by Anteater players. A year ago, former UCI player Rafael Macedo scored twice in the final against UC Santa Barbara, while this season, Carlos Aguilar put two in the back of the net in the semifinal win over Cal Poly. The only other player to record a two-goal game in the Big West Tournament is former Gaucho striker Nick Perera. He scored twice against Cal Poly in a semifinal match last season.