The Big West Conference will be well represented in the 50th edition of the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament as four league clubs gained inclusion to the tourney for the national title. Big West regular season and tournament champion UC Irvine, along with at-large selections UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis and Cal Poly will join 44 other squads for the race to Frisco, Texas where the national semifinals and final will be held at Pizza Hut Park December 12 and 14, respectively.
UC Irvine (14-1-6, 5-1-4 Big West) is making its first appearance in the NCAA tournament in program history. The Anteaters claimed the conference automatic berth by topping UC Davis in the Big West Tournament semifinals, 1-0, and a 4-2 win over UC Santa Barbara in the league tourney championship match. UCI received the #14 seed and a first round bye for its season-long efforts and will play the winner of the Cal Poly/UCLA (10-4-6, 6-1-2 Pac-10) first round match Tuesday, November 25 in Anteater Stadium. UCI played one match against a Pac-10 team this season, a 2-0 road win over San Diego State on Sept. 19. The Anteaters and Mustangs tied, 1-1, in their lone conference match this season.
UC Santa Barbara (10-6-5, 5-2-3 Big West) will be making their seventh consecutive and eighth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Gauchos, which claimed the #15 seed and a first round bye, will open up NCAA play in the friendly confines of Harder Stadium next Tuesday against the winner of the San Francisco (9-9-2, 6-4-1 West Coast Conference)/California (10-3-5, 5-2-3 Pac-10) first round match. UCSB played one match against a WCC and Pac-10 team this season, a 3-1 road victory over Loyola Marymount from the WCC and a 2-2 tie on the road against UCLA.
UC Davis (12-4-4, 4-2-4 Big West) is now 2-for-2 in Division I playoff appearances as the Aggies claimed their second straight postseason bid in their second year of DI competition. It marks the first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for UCD since it made three straight Division II tournaments from 1975-1977. The Aggies will host their first NCAA Division I postseason contest in any sport Saturday afternoon as MPSF champion Denver (10-5-2, 8-0-1 MPSF) heads to Davis for a first round match. The winner will make a cross country trip to Ann Arbor, Mich., for a second round date against #11 seed Michigan (12-5-3, 4-1-1 Big Ten) Tuesday. UC Davis went 3-0-0 against the MPSF this season, but did not play Denver. The Aggies also picked up a 4-2 win over the Wolverines' rival Michigan State in UCD’s lone match against a Big Ten school.
Cal Poly (10-5-6, 5-2-3 Big West) makes its second foray into the NCAA Tournament in its Division I history and its first as a member of the Big West. The Mustangs will open the postseason against a familar foe in Pac-10 champion UCLA, a club they played on the road just nine days ago. This time around Cal Poly looks to get a win in Drake Stadium against the Bruins as the Mustangs fell 2-1 in the previous matchup. UCLA has actually played four matches against Big West teams in 2008, beating UC Riverside and the Mustangs, while tying Cal State Northridge and UC Santa Barbara.
The Anteaters' acension from last in the conference a year ago to regular season and tournament champion can be credited to much improved play on both ends. Offensively, UCI has scored 40 goals to this point, easily surpassing the 26 scores it registered a year ago. The offense is centered around two big time performers in senior Matt Murphy (11 g, 7 a) and sophomore Spencer Thompson (8 g, 5 a). The Anteater attack has also received a huge boost from newcomer Irving Garcia (4 g, 8 a) as well as senior Rafael Macedo (4 g, 2 a). As improved as the offense has been, the defensive effort has been exception for the Anteaters. Seniors Kyle Schmid and David Sias have anchored a defense that has allowed just 21 goals this season, down from 31 scores a year ago. Even when the opposition has gotten shots on frame, freshman goalkeeper Andrew Fontein has been up to the task. The Big West Tournament MVP has posted a 0.97 goals against average to go along with 67 saves and four shutouts in his rookie campaign.
UC Santa Barbara's return to the NCAA fold once again followed the old Gaucho formula of a persistent offense and a rock solid defense. UCSB is led offensively by a pair of seniors in Hermann Trophy candidate Chris Pontius (14 g, 4 a) and Nick Perera (8 g, 3 a), the 2006 College Cup Most Outstanding Offensive Player. Defensively, UCSB is led by senior Alfonso Motagalvan, sophomore Michael Boxall and freshman Michael Tetteh patrolling the backline in front of freshman goalkeeper Kristopher Minton. Minton has been a big match performer this season, recording his first win in his first collegiate start at Indiana, as well as shutting out Cal Poly and UC Davis in consecutive matches during the regular season.
UC Davis brings a prolific offense and a much improved defense to the NCAA field in 2008. The Aggies have an impressive senior trio offensively in Quincy Amarikwa (15 g, 1 a), Dylan Curtis (5 g, 10 a) and Sule Anibaba (4 g, 2 a). They are part of an attack that ranks just fifth in the conference in shots, but is tied for third with 32 goals on the year. The defense has picked up where it left off late last season, allowing just 18 goals in 20 matches after allowing 31 scores in 20 matches in 2007. Senior Jordan Vanderpoorten, sophomore Chris Beville and freshman Nate Jarman are part of a defense that has allowed two or more goals on just five occasions this year. Sophomore goalkeeper Ryan McCowan has been great between the pipes, recording seven shutouts to go along with 55 saves and a conference-best 0.85 goals against average.
Cal Poly's NCAA appearance will showcase an balanced offense to go along with an excellent defense. The Mustangs are led by sophomore David Zamora (8 g, 0 a), senior Julian Alvarez (6 g, 4 a), sophomore Kyle Montgomery (1 g, 10 a) and freshman Patrick Sigler (5 g, 1 a) on offense, giving the club plenty of scoring options in the attack. Defensively, Cal Poly is second in the Big West in goals allowed with 20. The defensive lineup includes such stalwarts as Sigler, junior Josh Didion and senior Anton Peterlin in front of senior Eric Branagan-Franco, one of the top goalkeepers in the country. Branagan-Franco has posted eight shutouts, an 0.89 goals against average and a mind boggling 98 saves.