# 2002 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team

The 2002 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara during the 2002 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos were led by head coach Tim Vom Steeg, in his fourth season. For the first time in program history, the team became nationally ranked during the season and made the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the second round.

## Background

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team won the 2001 Big West Conference championship, however the conference did not have an automatic bid to the 2001 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament as the conference had just reinstated the men's soccer competition for the first time since 1991. The team did not receive an at-large selection by the NCAA which ended their 2001 season.

## Season summary

The 2002 UC Santa Barbara men's soccer team was tabbed as preseason favorites to win the league in the annual Big West Conference coaches poll, besting the UC Irvine Anteaters by one point. With no exhibition games to start the season, the Gauchos won the Michigan State Classic. After their next game against St. Mary's, the Gauchos were nationally ranked by College Soccer News for their first time in program history. Their unbeaten streak continued through the St. Louis Nike Classic, and Bryant & Sons Cup. Shortly after, the NSCAA/adidas, Soccer America, and Soccer Times all joined College Soccer News in adding UC Santa Barbara to their top-25 teams. Their first loss wouldn't come until October 6 against #7 Loyola Marymount. The Gauchos went unbeaten in Big West Conference play, including both games of the Blue–Green Rivalry against the Cal Poly Mustangs. The only other regular season loss the Gauchos experienced was to #1 Indiana Hoosiers.
The Gauchos claimed a share of the Big West Conference championship on November 9 after a 3–0 victory against the UC Riverside Highlanders. The Gauchos defeated the Cal State Fullerton Titans the following game 2–0 to claim the title outright. UC Santa Barbara earned an at-large bid to the 2002 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament and hosted the San Diego Toreros at Harder Stadium. The Gauchos won the match 2–0, but fell in the following round to the California Golden Bears.

## Player movement
### Offseason departures

Sources:
| Name | No. | Pos. | Nation | Year | Reason for departure |
| Bradford Duttera | 00 | GK | USA | Sophomore | — |
| Jeremy Pruzin | 0 | GK | USA | Sophomore | — |
| Erik Stolhandske | 01 | GK | USA | Sophomore | — |
| Brian Reardon | 2 | FW | USA | Senior | Graduated |
| Aaron McAthy | 6 | MF | USA | Junior | — |
| Anthony Dimech | 7 | MF | USA | Senior | Graduated |
| Joe Hubay–Dies | 11 | FW | USA | Senior | Graduated |
| Reuben Bates | 12 | DF | USA | Senior | Graduated |
| Steven Sosa | 13 | MF | USA | Senior | Graduated |
| Galen Donaldson | 15 | DF | USA | Senior | Graduated |
| Jaime Ambriz | 21 | FW | USA | Senior | Graduated |

### Recruiting

The signing class was formally announced on May 16, 2002. A further signing was announced on July 9, 2002.
| Name | Pos. | Nation | Previous | TDS Rating |
| Alan Keely | DF | IRL | Shelbourne F.C. St Joseph's C.B.S. | N/A |
| Jeff Murphy | MF | USA | Servite High School | N/A |
| Kyle Reynish | GK | USA | Hart High School SoCal United | N/A |

### Transfers

Outgoing
| Name | No. | Pos. | Nation | Year | New school |
| Kevin Maffris | 14 | DF | USA | Sophomore | California |
| Alex Tablin-Wolf | 22 | DF | USA | Freshman | Santa Clara |
| Sean Edwards | 24 | MF | USA | Junior | Westmont |
Incoming
| Name | Pos. | Nation | Year | Previous |
| David McGill | MF | IRL | Junior | Charlotte 49ers |
| Memo Arzate | MF | USA | Junior | Compton College |
| Jacob Kovacs | MF | USA | Junior | De Anza College |

## Personnel
### Player roster

Final 2002 roster.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 00 | GK | USA | Justin Pugh |
| 0 | GK | USA | Kyle Reynish |
| 1 | GK | USA | Danny Kennedy |
| 2 | DF | IRL | Alan Keely |
| 3 | MF | USA | Brandon Meeks |
| 4 | MF | IRL | David McGill |
| 5 | DF | USA | Pat Scott |
| 6 | MF | USA | Jon Apilado |
| 7 | MF | USA | Darren Doi |
| 8 | FW | USA | Matt Bly |
| 9 | MF | NZL | Neil Jones |
| 10 | FW | USA | Drew McAthy |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 11 | FW | USA | Gene Deering |
| 12 | DF | USA | Pete O'Hare |
| 13 | FW | USA | Will Meredith |
| 14 | MF | USA | Corey Wood |
| 15 | DF | NZL | Tony Lochhead |
| 16 | FW | CAN | Rob Friend |
| 17 | MF | USA | Dan Young |
| 19 | MF | USA | Matt Kubota |
| 20 | MF | USA | Nate Boyden |
| 22 | MF | USA | Memo Arzate |
| 24 | MF | USA | Jeff Murphy |
| 25 | MF | USA | Jon Claydon |

### Coaches

| Position | Staff |
| Head coach | Tim Vom Steeg |
| Assistant coach | Leo Chappel |
| Goalkeeper coach | Ryan Sparre |

## Schedule

Source:
| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Regular Season ||||||
| September 1, 2002* | | vs. Michigan Wolverines Michigan State Classic | W 5–3 | 1–0–0 | Old College Field (240) East Lansing, Michigan |
| September 2, 2002* | | at Michigan State Spartans Michigan State Classic | W 3–2 $^{2OT}$ | 2–0–0 | Old College Field (713) East Lansing, Michigan |
| September 6, 2002* | | Saint Mary's Gaels | W 6–0 | 3–0–0 | Harder Stadium (892) Santa Barbara, California |
| September 13, 2002* | | vs. James Madison Dukes St. Louis Nike Classic | W 3–1 | 4–0–0 | Hermann Stadium (212) St. Louis, Missouri |
| September 15, 2002* | | vs. Southwest Missouri State Bears St. Louis Nike Classic | W 4–1 | 5–0–0 | Hermann Stadium (193) St. Louis, Missouri |
| September 21, 2002* | | Westmont Warriors Bryant & Sons Cup | W 5–2 | 6–0–0 | Harder Stadium (1,678) Santa Barbara, California |
| September 29, 2002* | No. 25 | Sacramento State Hornets | W 3–0 | 7–0–0 | Harder Stadium (340) Santa Barbara, California |
| October 4, 2002* | No. 25 | San Diego State Aztecs | W 3–0 | 8–0–0 | Harder Stadium (403) Santa Barbara, California |
| October 6, 2002* | No. 25 | at No. 7 Loyola Marymount Lions | L 1–0 $^{OT}$ | 8–1–0 | Sullivan Field (786) Los Angeles, California |
| October 12, 2002 | No. 24 | Cal State Fullerton Titans | W 2–1 | 9–1–0 (1–0–0) | Harder Stadium (383) Santa Barbara, California |
| October 16, 2002 | No. 22 | UC Riverside Highlanders | W 5–0 | 10–1–0 (2–0–0) | Harder Stadium (245) Santa Barbara, California |
| October 19, 2002 | No. 22 | at Cal State Northridge Matadors | T 0–0 $^{2OT}$ | 10–1–1 (2–0–1) | Matador Soccer Field (513) Northridge, California |
| October 25, 2002 | No. 17 | at Cal Poly Mustangs Blue–Green Rivalry | W 3–1 | 11–1–1 (3–0–1) | Mustang Stadium (425) San Luis Obispo, California |
| October 27, 2002* | No. 17 | vs. No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers | L 3–1 | 11–2–1 (3–0–1) | Titan Stadium (335) Fullerton, California |
| October 30, 2002 | No. 15 | at UC Irvine Anteaters | W 4–1 | 12–2–1 (4–0–1) | Anteater Stadium (355) Irvine, California |
| November 2, 2002 | No. 15 | Cal Poly Mustangs Blue–Green Rivalry | W 3–0 | 13–2–1 (5–0–1) | Harder Stadium (522) Santa Barbara, California |
| November 6, 2002 | No. 15 | Cal State Northridge Matadors | W 4–2 | 14–2–1 (6–0–1) | Harder Stadium (457) Santa Barbara, California |
| November 9, 2002 | No. 15 | UC Riverside Highlanders | W 3–0 | 15–2–1 (7–0–1) | UC Riverside Soccer Stadium (100) Riverside, California |
| November 13, 2002 | No. 14 | Cal State Fullerton Titans | W 2–0 | 16–2–1 (8–0–1) | Titan Stadium (437) Fullerton, California |
| November 16, 2002 | No. 14 | UC Irvine Anteaters | W 5–0 | 17–2–1 (9–0–1) | Harder Stadium (1,163) Santa Barbara, California |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 16, 2002 | No. 12 | San Diego Toreros First Round | W 2–0 | 18–2–1 (9–0–1) | Harder Stadium (3,420) Santa Barbara, California |
| November 27, 2002 | No. 12 | No. 23 California Golden Bears Second Round | L 2–1 | 18–3–1 (9–0–1) | Edwards Stadium (1,286) Berkeley, California |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Rob Friend | NSCAA/adidas Third Team All-American | December 12, 2002 |
| Rob Friend | NSCAA/adidas First Team All-Far West Region | December 12, 2002 |
| Memo Arzate | NSCAA/adidas Second Team All-Far West Region | December 12, 2002 |
| Drew McAthy | NSCAA/adidas Third Team All-Far West Region | December 12, 2002 |
| Rob Friend | Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year | November 20, 2002 |
| Alan Keely | Big West Conference Freshman of the Year | November 20, 2002 |
| Rob Friend | Big West Conference First Team | November 20, 2002 |
| Alan Keely | Big West Conference First Team | November 20, 2002 |
| Dan Young | Big West Conference First Team | November 20, 2002 |
| Memo Arzate | Big West Conference First Team | November 20, 2002 |
| Drew McAthy | Big West Conference First Team | November 20, 2002 |
| David McGill | Big West Conference Second Team | November 20, 2002 |
| Tony Lochhead | Big West Conference Second Team | November 20, 2002 |
| Danny Kennedy | Big West Conference Second Team | November 20, 2002 |
| Matt Kubota | Big West Conference Honorable Mention | November 20, 2002 |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| NSCAA | — | — | — | RV | 25 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 21 |
| Soccer America | — | — | — | — | 24 | 23 | — | 24 | 25 | — | 25 | 24 | 23 | N/A |
| Soccer Times | — | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 22 | 23 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 17 | N/A |