Bakersfield Beats Gauchos 5-1 in the Big West Final at Harder Stadium
No. 4 seed Cal State Bakersfield scored a Big West Championship record five goals on Friday night to beat No. 3 seed UC Santa Barbara 5-1 at Harder Stadium, winning the first Big West team title in any sport for the Roadrunners.
Cal State Bakersfield beat UC Santa Barbara 5-1 on Friday night at Harder Stadium to win the 2026 Big West Men's Soccer Championship. The No. 4 seed Roadrunners finished at 7-4-7, while the No. 3 seed Gauchos finished at 9-6-5.
The title is the first Big West team championship in any sport for Bakersfield. Bakersfield athletics said it is also the first conference championship for any of its programs since the school joined the league in 2020, and the men's soccer program returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011.
Filip Arras put Bakersfield in front in the sixth minute. Santa Barbara levelled the match in the 26th minute, when Steinar Bjornsson scored from the penalty spot, and Bakersfield answered almost at once. Oshea Foster scored in the 33rd minute on an assist from Justin Knighton, and Joey Velasquez scored in the 34th minute. Bakersfield athletics counted three goals in a span of 9 minutes and 17 seconds in the first half, and the Roadrunners led 3-1 at halftime.
Jesse Wangusi made the score 4-1 in the 58th minute, with Velasquez providing the assist. Mpawenayo Jackson closed the scoring in the 85th minute on a pass from Lorimer Bouman.
The five goals are a single game record for the Big West Championship. Santa Barbara outshot Bakersfield 23 to 14, but Bakersfield put seven shots on frame and limited the Gauchos to three shots on goal. Goalkeeper Zenden Hart made two saves, both after halftime, as Bakersfield held Santa Barbara to the penalty kick goal.
Arras was named the championship most valuable player. Bjornsson, Drew Kamienski and Jack Middleton represented Santa Barbara on the all-tournament team announced by the conference.
Bakersfield earns the conference automatic berth into the NCAA Division I championship field. The NCAA selection show, set for Monday, Nov. 16, at 10 a.m. Pacific on ncaa.com, will reveal the Bakersfield seed and its opening opponent.
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