2006 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team

The 2006 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara during the 2006 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 41st season of the team fielding a varsity college soccer team, and their 24th season playing in the Big West Conference.

2006 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer
National Champions
Big West Conference champions Bryant & Sons Cup winners
Conference	Big West Conference
2006 record	17–7–1 (7–3–0 Big West)
Head coach	Tim Vom Steeg (8th season)
Captain	Tyler Rosenlund
Home stadium	Harder Stadium

2006 Big West Conference men's soccer standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 UC Santa Barbara ‡	7	–	3	–	0			17	–	7	–	1
UC Irvine	6	–	3	–	1			13	–	4	–	3
CSU Northridge	5	–	2	–	3			8	–	6	–	5
Cal Poly	3	–	5	–	2			7	–	8	–	4
CSU Fullerton	3	–	7	–	0			7	–	11	–	1
UC Riverside	2	–	7	–	1			5	–	13	–	1
‡ – 2006 Big West Tournament champion + – Invited to the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship As of December 3, 2006; Rankings from United Soccer Coaches

The season was highlighted by the Gauchos winning their first NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, in which they won the final against UCLA Bruins in the final in St. Louis. It was the first season since 1989 that a team from a mid-major conference won the NCAA Championship, a feat that would not be accomplished until the University of Akron did so in 2010.

Background

Following a debut College Cup run in 2004, the Gauchos had a relative slump in 2005, finishing with a 13–5–3 overall record, and a 7–1–2 Big West record, good enough for second in the conference. The Gauchos finished the season ranked 23rd in the nation. Despite not winning the Big West championship, UCSB earned an at-large berth into the 2005 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, there they advanced to the second round, before losing 3–2 to conference rival, Cal State Northridge.

Review

Prior to the start of preseason, UCSB defender and two-time All-American, Andy Iro was named to the Hermann Trophy watch list.[1] Iro was also the reigning Big West Defensive Player of the Year. Additionally, the squad entered the season ranked 21st in the nation, and was composed of the 22nd strongest recruiting class. The recruiting class featured future MLS all-stars including Eric Avila and Chris Pontius.[2] In the Big West preseason coaches poll, UCSB was picked to win the conference title.[3]

Ahead of the 2006 regular season, the Gauchos played Westmont College for the 42nd Annual Bryant and Sons Cup, a pre-season friendly that pits the two Santa Barbara universities against each other in a soccer match. Played in front of 1,000 spectators at Harder Stadium, the Gauchos emerged victorious, with a 6–0 victory over the Warriors.[4] Bongomin Otti netted a hat trick in the match while Bryan Byrne netted two goals. Nick Perera added a goal in the 90th minute to cap off the result.[5]

The regular season began with a cross country flight to Virginia, where the Gauchos participated in the UVA Soccer Classic in Charlottesville, Virginia. Their opening game was against the seventh ranked Akron Zips, where they won in a convincing 5–0 victory.[6] Otii and Avila both netted two goals for the Gauchos, along with a single goal from Tino Nuñez.[7]

Roster

Final 2006 roster.[8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  USA Kyle Reynish 2 DF  USA Jeff Murphy 3 MF  USA David Walker 4 DF  ENG Andy Iro 5 MF  USA Jon Curry 6 DF  USA Greg Curry 7 MF  IRL Bryan Byrne 8 FW  USA Paul Kierstead 9 FW  USA Tino Nuñez 10 MF  CAN Tyler Rosenlund 11 MF  USA Alfonso Motagalvan 12 MF  GHA Eric Frimpong 13 MF  USA Chris Pontius

No. Pos. Nation Player 14 FW  ESP Nick Perera 15 MF  USA Eric Avila 16 MF  USA Evan Patterson 17 MF  USA Brennan Tennelle 18 DF  USA Kyle Kaveny 19 FW  CAN Andrew Proctor 20 FW  USA Bongomin Otii 22 GK  USA Bryant Rueckner 23 FW  USA Tony Chinakwe 24 GK  USA Jason Badger 25 MF  USA Jordan Kaplan 28 MF  USA Drew Gleason 29 MF  USA C.J. Cintas 30 FW  USA Guillermo Jalomo

Schedule

Date Time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site City, State
Exhibition
08-19-2006* 7:00 pm	No. 21	Westmont Bryant & Sons Cup	W 6–0		Harder Stadium (1,062) Santa Barbara, CA
Regular season
08-25-2006* 4:00 pm	No. 21	vs. No. 7 Akron UVA Soccer Classic	W 5–0	1–0–0	Klöckner Stadium (49) Charlottesville, VA
08-27-2006* 1:00 pm	No. 21	at No. 3 Virginia UVA Soccer Classic	L 0–1	1–1–0	Klöckner Stadium (2,640) Charlottesville, VA
09-02-2006* 7:00 pm	No. 9	No. 21 San Diego State	W 1–0	2–1–0	Harder Stadium (1,021) Santa Barbara, CA
09-05-2006 7:00 pm	No. 7	Cal Poly Blue–Green Rivalry	W 1–0	3–1–0 (1–0–0)	Harder Stadium (924) Santa Barbara, CA
09-08-2006* 7:30 pm	No. 7	No. 18 UIC	L 1–2	3–2–0	Harder Stadium (856) Santa Barbara, CA
09-15-2006* 7:30 pm	No. 14	Loyola Marymount	W 1–0	4–2–0	Harder Stadium (2,158) Santa Barbara, CA
09-21-2006 8:00 pm	No. 12	at Cal State Fullerton	W 2–1	5–2–0 (2–0–0)	Titan Stadium (802) Fullerton, CA
09-23-2006* 7:00 pm	No. 12	at UC Davis	L 0–1	5–3–0	Aggie Field (780) Davis, CA
09-27-2006 7:00 pm	No. 19	at Cal State Northridge	L 0–5	5–4–0 (2–1–0)	Performance Field (521) Northridge, CA
09-30-2006* 7:00 pm	No. 19	Michigan	W 1–0 ^2OT	6–4–0	Harder Stadium (3,577) Santa Barbara, CA
10-05-2006* 7:00 pm		No. 7 UCLA UCLA rivalry	L 1–3	6–5–0	Harder Stadium (5,475) Santa Barbara, CA
10-07-2006 7:00 pm		No. 15 UC Irvine	W 2–0	7–5–0 (3–1–0)	Harder Stadium (2,367) Santa Barbara, CA
10-11-2006 7:00 pm		at UC Riverside	L 0–1	7–6–0 (3–2–0)	UC Riverside Soccer Stadium (576) Riverside, CA
10-14-2006 7:00 pm		at Cal Poly	W 2–0	8–6–0 (4–2–0)	Alex G. Spanos Stadium (1,123) San Luis Obispo, CA
10-18-2006* 7:30 pm		UC Davis	W 1–0	9–6–0	Harder Stadium (1,061) Santa Barbara, CA
10-21-2006 7:30 pm		Cal State Fullerton	W 1–0	10–6–0 (5–2–0)	Harder Stadium (1,447) Santa Barbara, CA
10-25-2006 7:30 pm		Cal State Northridge	W 1–0	11–6–0 (6–2–0)	Harder Stadium (2,434) Santa Barbara, CA
11-01-2006 7:30 pm	No. 25	at No. 18 UC Irvine	L 0–2	11–7–0 (6–3–0)	Anteater Stadium (1,561) Irvine, CA
11-04-2006 7:00 pm	No. 25	UC Riverside	W 4–0	12–7–0 (7–3–0)	Harder Stadium (1,647) Santa Barbara, CA
NCAA Tournament
11-11-2006* 1:00 pm	No. 17	San Diego State First Round	W 2–1	13–7–0	Harder Stadium (2,356) Santa Barbara, CA
11-15-2006* 5:00 pm	No. 17	at (3) No. 1 SMU Second Round	W 3–1	14–7–0	Westcott Field (1,012) Dallas, TX
11-18-2006* 4:00 pm	No. 17	at No. 20 Old Dominion Third Round	W 2–1	15–7–0	ODU Soccer Complex (1,481) Norfolk, VA
11-25-2006* 7:00 pm	No. 17	at Northwestern Quarterfinals	W 2–1	16–7–0	Harder Stadium (8,784) Santa Barbara, CA
NCAA College Cup
12-02-2006* 11:30 am, ESPNU	No. 17	vs. (2) No. 2 Wake Forest Semifinals	T 0–0 W 4–3 PK ^2OT	16–7–1	Hermann Stadium (6,314) St. Louis, MO
12-03-2006* 12:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 17	vs. (8) No. 22 UCLA National Championship	W 2–1	17–7–1	Hermann Stadium (5,948) St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References

1. "Andy Iro Named to Hermann Award Watch List". ucsbgauchos.com. August 17, 2006. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
2. "Season Preview: UCSB Kicks Off the 2006 Campaign with Exhibition vs. Westmont". ucsbgauchos.com. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
3. "UCSB Picked To Win Another Big West Title In Preseason Coaches Poll". ucsbgauchos.com. August 9, 2006.
4. "No. 21 UCSB Captures Bryant & Sons Cup with 6-0 Thrashing of Cross-Town Rival Westmont". ucsbgauchos.com. August 19, 2006. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
5. "Soccer Box Score: UCSB 6, Westmont 0 (Exhibition)". ucsbgauchos.com. August 19, 2006. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
6. "No. 21 UCSB Dismantles No. 7 Akron, 5-0 In Season Opener". ucsbgauchos.com. August 25, 2006.
7. "Soccer Box Score: #7 AKRON vs #21 UC Santa Barbara". ucsbgauchos.com. August 25, 2006.
8. "2006 UCSB Men's Soccer Roster". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. Archived from the original on December 5, 2006. Retrieved August 17, 2020.

External links

• UCSB Soccer