The pitch was truly kind to Big West men's soccer in 2008 as the league achieved new highs to cement its place among the elite soccer conferences in the country.
UC Irvine proved that the conference is no longer UC Santa Barbara's stomping ground as the Anteaters became the first time since Cal State Northridge in 2005 to claim the league's regular season crown. UCI also joined CSUN as the only schools other than UCSB to claim the Big West crown. The Anteaters weren't finished there as they also added the inaugural Big West Tournament championship to their resume to punch their ticket to the first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. The NCAA selection committee rewarded UCI with the #14 seed and a bye in the first round.
Speaking of the league tournament, UC Irvine was joined by UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly and UC Davis for the single-elimination showdown. After a frentic finish determined the teams and seeds, fans were treated to high quality soccer. UCI topped the fourth-seeded Aggies in the semifinals by a 1-0 count, while second-seeded UCSB and #3 seed Cal Poly engaged in a classic battle that the Gauchos won in a penalty kick shootout. The PK’s came after a 2-2 tie in regulation and overtime. The Anteaters and Gauchos then battled for the tournament championship with UCI leaving no doubt with a 4-2 win.
The NCAA Tournament selection committee was thoroughly impressed with the Big West as the conference landed a record four clubs in the national tournament. The quartet of Cal Poly, UC Davis, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara marked the first time that the Big West had claimed more than two spots in the NCAA Tournament and the first time that a program other than UCSB or Cal State Northridge represented the conference in the race for the national title. The conference did not disappoint in the postseason as the Mustangs and Aggies both won their first round games, while the #15 national seed Gauchos fell in double overtime to a tough Cal squad. UCI went the farthest as the squad reached the Sweet 16 after beating conference foe Cal Poly in the second round. In the round of 16, the Anteaters fell to the #3 national seed St. John’s (N.Y.) in a thrilling match by a 3-2 final.
There were also several other storylines during the 2008 season on both a team and individual scale.
One of the most impressive headlines was the crowd of 11,075 that showed up to Cal Poly's Spanos Stadium October 17 for a nationally televised primetime contest between the Mustangs and UC Santa Barbara. The attendance figure was the third largest single-game regular season number in NCAA history and topped the old Big West regular season record of 8,102 set during the Cal Poly/UCSB match on November 3, 2007. The Mustang/Gaucho rivalry also had a large number in attendance at Harder Stadium this season as 9,749 fans came to witness a scoreless tie on November 5. That figure set a UCSB program record and is the fourth-largest regular season crowd in NCAA history.
On the individual side of things, offense ruled the Big West as six players surpassed the 20-point plateau, with three of those athletes going over 30. The six 20-point scorers are the most in the conference since five players exceeded the number in 2004. That is also the last season the conference saw multiple 30-point scorers as a pair of players did it back then. As amazing as the offense was, the conference did have a streak come to an end. For the first time since 2002, the Big West did not have a player pick up a hat trick.
Individually, several players left their stamp on Big West and program record books. UC Irvine's Matt Murphy concluded his stellar career fifth in league history in both goals (33) and points (85), while finishing in a tie for eighth with 19 assists. Murphy owns the UCI program marks in goals and points and is tied for third in assists.
UC Santa Barbara's Chris Pontius proved no one can stop him from getting a shot as the senior forward set the Big West single season record for shots with 114. He also finished in a tie for sixth on the single season game-winning goals list (6) and finished just outside the top 10 in points (32) and goals (14).