The final step to the NCAA Tournament will be completed in the upcoming week as the inaugural four-team Big West men's soccer tournament takes center stage. Regular season champion UC Irvine and second place UC Santa Barbara have earned the right to host the semifinal matches Wednesday, with the winners to meet Saturday at the highest remaining seed for the tournament title and automatic berth to the NCAAs.

#1 UC Irvine comes into the tournament as the hottest club in the league, boasting an eight-match unbeaten string (8-0-3) which propelled the Anteaters to their first Big West regular season championship. UCI faces off against #4 UC Davis in the first round, a squad that has tied the Anteaters on two previous occasions this season. UC Irvine will lean on the talents of Matt Murphy (11 g, 7 a) and Spencer Thompson (8 g, 5a) offensively, while Andrew Fontein (0.96 GAA, 3 SO, 56 sv) has been stellar in goal.

#2 UC Santa Barbara enters the tournament as the #2 seed after a 5-2-3 record in league play. The Gauchos tied semifinal opponent #3 Cal Poly in the standings, but won the tiebreaker thanks to a 1-0-1 record against the Mustangs this season. UCSB, which entered the season as the league favorite among the coaches, has relied on the offensive talents of Hermann Trophy candidate Chris Pontius (13 g, 4 a) as well as Nick Perera (5 g, 3 a). Alfonso Motagalvan has shifted from the midfield to the backline to solidfy a defensive that shut out Cal Poly and UC Davis in succession in its last two matches and has allowed more than one goal only once in its last seven outings.

#3 Cal Poly had a shot to win the conference outright last week, but had to settle for the third seed and a trip to Santa Barbara to take on the Gauchos. The Mustangs may have one of the most balanced offensive attacks in the league as they have scored 30 goals on 32 assists this season. They are led on the attacking end by David Zamora (8 g), Julian Alvarez (5 g, 4 a) and Kyle Montgomery (1 g, 9 a). In all, Cal Poly has four players with four or more goals and three players with four or more assists. The Mustangs also possess one of the top goalkeepers in the league in Eric Branagan-Franco, who has posted league-bests in goals against average (0.84), saves (87) and shutouts (8).

#4 UC Davis enters the tournament in a bit of a slump as it is only 1-2-3 in its previous five matches and has been shut out in the previous two games. Despite its recent struggles, the Aggies are a dangerous side with one of the top offenses in the nation and a defense that can shut down any attack. Quincy Amarikwa leads the Big West in goals (15) and points (31), while Dylan Curtis has been an offensive spark with five goals and a conference-leading 10 assists. Defensively, Jordan Vanderpoorten, Chris Beville and Jake Mogelson have been steady ahead of Ryan McCowan, an excellent goalkeeper. He is second in the Big West in goals against average (0.85) and shutouts (7), while collecting 53 saves.