UCSB has earned a berth in the NCAA men’s soccer tournament for the seventh consecutive year and has been awarded a bye in the first round by virtue of being one of the 16 seeded teams. The Gauchos, seeded No. 15, will host the winner of a first-round game between Cal and the University of San Francisco at 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 25.
Four teams from the Big West Conference made it into the 48-team field. UC Irvine, which defeated UCSB 4-2 in the finals of the conference tournament Saturday, is the highest seeded at No. 14. Cal Poly and UC Davis both will play first-round games.
The Gauchos (10-6-5) faced one of the nation’s toughest schedules and have a road victory over No. 6-seeded Indiana to their credit. Top-seeded Wake Forest, the defending national champion, defeated the Gauchos 6-2 in September. UCSB won the NCAA title in 2006.
Cal (10-3-5) will be the home team Friday afternoon for its game against USF (9-9-2).