Gauchos Beat UC Irvine on Penalties to Reach the Big West Final
Santa Barbara and UC Irvine played 110 scoreless minutes in Irvine on Saturday night. The Gauchos won the shootout 4-2 and will host Cal State Bakersfield in the final on Friday night.
The UC Santa Barbara men's soccer team advanced to the Big West Championship final on Saturday night, outlasting UC Irvine 4-2 in a penalty kick shootout after the semifinal at Anteater Stadium finished 0-0 through regulation and two overtime periods. The result is recorded as a draw, leaving Santa Barbara at 9-5-5 overall and 3-1-2 in Big West play, while Irvine closes its tournament run at 10-6-3 and 4-1-1, according to The Big West, which published the official championship account of the match.
The semifinal was a rematch of the 2025 final, and it was physical from the start. The two teams combined for 42 fouls and 10 cards, The Big West says. Irvine played a man down from the 54th minute, when Gustavo Gonzalez was sent off, and the hosts still produced the better of the first half, outshooting Santa Barbara 9-0 before the break.
The balance shifted after the red card. Santa Barbara fired eight shots in the second half to three for Irvine, and Irvine goalkeeper Scott Williams, the Big West Goalkeeper of the Year, saved attempts by Ty Branigan, Steinar Bjornsson and Calle Mollerberg to keep the match scoreless. Irvine nearly won it in the 74th minute, when freshman Pierce Rizzo struck the left woodwork. Neither side scored in either golden goal overtime period.
In the shootout, Kaden Standish converted first for Santa Barbara and Zac Smuck answered for Irvine. Donovan Sessoms put the Gauchos back in front before goalkeeper Beninga saved the attempt by Javier Bedolla Vera. Bjornsson scored for Santa Barbara, Brady Treinen kept Irvine alive, and Mateos Carvalho converted the Gauchos' fourth kick. When Joe O'Shaughnessy's attempt struck the crossbar, Santa Barbara was through, 4-2.
The win puts Santa Barbara in a Big West final for the fifth time in six seasons. It will be the program's 11th appearance in the title match, with a third conference championship at stake. The opponent is No. 4 seed Cal State Bakersfield, a first-time finalist that beat top seed Utah Valley 1-0 in Orem on Saturday on a fifth-minute goal by Filip Arras and six saves by Zenden Hart, according to Cal State Bakersfield Athletics. The final is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. at Harder Stadium. The regular-season meeting between the two teams finished 0-0 in Bakersfield.
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