2012 UCSB GAUCHOS Official Thread

Welcome to the 2012 UCSB Gauchos Official Thread. The Gauchos are coming off a season where they made it to the Sweet 16, had 3 players drafted to MLS teams, had their first All-American and again topped the attendance chart. The Gauchos lose some key players in a variety of ways, but return a huge chunk of the starters from last year. Because of this it would be hard to call this a rebuilding year. The hope is incoming players can fill the very big shoes left by our top players that are no longer here. There are a few questions to start to year in my opinion:

1) Where will goals come from? - Losing Silva and Garza means that UCSB loses more than half their goal production from last year. Nonni and Opoku leaving dwindles the forward line as well.

2) What will happen at the goalkeeping spot? - Grandt was an underacheiver at best and cost UCSB quite a few games with poor communication and decision making. Mansker is healthy this year and supposedly a talented freshman is coming in. This spot is up for grabs as of right now.

3) Can UCSB remain healthy and injury-free? - Injuries really took a toll on the Gauchos last year. The early season loss of McGlynn was arguably the biggest loss while injuries to Fifi, MD and Glodack happened at key times. Granted UCSB isn't necessarily in control of these injuries happening, but if they can avoid them this year, the team will be in better shape.


One thing to note is that freshman forward Chris Roell suffered a horrific accident last weekend. Isla Vista as many of you know is located right on the beach and houses located on the street called Del Playa typically have a 50 foot cliff as part of their backyard. While at a party Chris fell off the cliff. He was rushed to a hospital in Santa Barbara and was in critical condition. This week his condition has improved tremendously. He is breathing on his own, speaking, able to do some physical therapy and can start eating food on his own again. He still has a long road ahead, but he has the love and support of not only his family from home, but his Gaucho family here.

That's it for right now, but I'll update as time goes on including a roster dance and potential starting line-ups. This year has already had its talks about being something special not only on the field, but off. Hoping the Gauchos on the field and the Locos in the stands can set themselves apart even more from the rest of the College Soccer world.

Time for my first 2012 Roster Dance. We know some of the incoming class (http://www.ucsbgauchos.com/sports/m-soccer/2011-12/releases/20120201hs1lyz), but TVS is known to add key players late in the game. We will see what happens in the coming months, but for now here you go...

WARNING: I don't know all or everything for sure. A lot might be hear-say. Take what you will with a grain of salt until official enough for you.

Coaches:
Tim Vom Steeg
Greg Wilson
Greg Curry
Stu Dobson

Out:
Luis Silva (drafted by Toronto FC)
Sam Garza (drafted by San Jose Earthquakes)
James Kiffe (Ventura County Fusion)
Tim Pontius (finishing up school)
Waid Ibrahim (working for Right To Dream in Ghana)
Gaby Okito (finishing up school)
Michael Nonni (signed by SV Wilhelmshaven)
David Opoku (jumping around Spain/Portugal/Ghana)

Total: 8

Returning:
1 André Grandt Goalkeeper 6-0 175 SR
2 Peter Schmetz Defender 6-6 205 JR
3 Peter McGlynn Midfielder 5-11 165 SR
4 Juan Gomez Defender 6-2 180 SR
5 Fifi Baiden Midfielder 5-8 165 JR
6 Christian Vazquez Midfielder 5-8 145 RS-SR
10 Machael David Midfielder 5-7 150 SR
13 Matt Thayer Defender 5-10 173 RS-SO
14 Nic Ryan Midfielder 5-8 130 SR
15 Dom Sarle Forward 5-9 155 JR
16 Matthew Glodack Defender 5-9 156 JR
19 Josue Madueno Forward 5-6 150 SR
21 David Flores Goalkeeper 6-3 180 JR
22 Mac Cerceo Midfielder 5-7 160 SO
23 Rey Ezra-Simbwa Midfielder 5-8 160 JR
25 Austin Mansker Goalkeeper 6-2 200 RS-SO
26 Jordan Dorn Goalkeeper 6-3 200 RS-FR
27 Alex de Leon Midfielder 5-6 148 RS-SO
28 Rafael Mora Midfielder 5-11 155 RS-SO
29 Chris Roell Forward 5-11 152 SO
31 Marcial "Marshall" Cazares Defender 5-9 150 SO
32 Kevin Garcia-Lopez Defender 5-6 142 RS-SO
33 Charlie Miller Midfielder 6-3 190 RS-FR
88 Michael Chavez Midfielder 5-9 160 SR

Total: 24

Coming In:
Transfers:
Cesar Castillo Midfielder Cerritos College
Dion Acoff Midfielder Creighton
Achille Campion Forward Belhaven University
Javier Castro Forward Mt. San Antonio College
Brandon Brockway Defender Oregon State
Dylan Murphy Defender New South Wales Institute of Sport (Australia)

Freshmen:
Ema Boateng Midfielder Cate School/SBSC
Nick Savino Goalkeeper Moorestown High School/Lions Soccer Academy

Total: 8

TOTAL: 32

At risk:
David Flores
Jordan Dorn

So there you go. Some good transfers and older players coming in to replace what we lost. Adding a talented Freshman GK means 1 or 2 GKs will be dropped. Still only have 31 players if we keep them on, but there's no point to carry that many GKs. We lost 6 attacking players and added 5 and we lost 2 defenders and added 2 and then a GK, so we pretty much replace players evenly. I expect immediate impact by 4 incoming players (Castillo, Acoff, Campion, Boateng) and depending on our defender situation, we'll see if one of the incoming defenders will get some PT. Spring games are looking to be played towards the end of April and that will give us a look at how Castillo, Acoff, Campion and Murphy fit in with the team as they are already in school.

UCSB adds UMBC transfer Scotsman Daniel Welsh. He is a defender who TVS sees as complimenting Schmetz. This move kind of worries me about Glodack. This makes me think he is not getting over his head injury as much as we would hope. Also, Opoku signed with his team in Finland. Well, here is the updated roster dance...
http://www.ucsbgauchos.com/sports/m-soccer/2011-12/releases/20120306loltke

WARNING: I don't know all or everything for sure. A lot might be hear-say. Take what you will with a grain of salt until official enough for you.

Coaches:
Tim Vom Steeg
Greg Wilson
Greg Curry
Stu Dobson

Out:
Luis Silva (drafted by Toronto FC)
Sam Garza (drafted by San Jose Earthquakes)
James Kiffe (Ventura County Fusion)
Tim Pontius (finishing up school)
Waid Ibrahim (working for Right To Dream in Ghana)
Gaby Okito (finishing up school)
Michael Nonni (signed by SV Wilhelmshaven)
David Opoku (signed by HJK Helsinki)

Total: 8

Returning:
1 André Grandt Goalkeeper 6-0 175 SR
2 Peter Schmetz Defender 6-6 205 JR
3 Peter McGlynn Midfielder 5-11 165 SR
4 Juan Gomez Defender 6-2 180 SR
5 Fifi Baiden Midfielder 5-8 165 JR
6 Christian Vazquez Midfielder 5-8 145 RS-SR
10 Machael David Midfielder 5-7 150 SR
13 Matt Thayer Defender 5-10 173 RS-SO
14 Nic Ryan Midfielder 5-8 130 SR
15 Dom Sarle Forward 5-9 155 JR
16 Matthew Glodack Defender 5-9 156 JR
19 Josue Madueno Forward 5-6 150 SR
21 David Flores Goalkeeper 6-3 180 JR
22 Mac Cerceo Midfielder 5-7 160 SO
23 Rey Ezra-Simbwa Midfielder 5-8 160 JR
25 Austin Mansker Goalkeeper 6-2 200 RS-SO
26 Jordan Dorn Goalkeeper 6-3 200 RS-FR
27 Alex de Leon Midfielder 5-6 148 RS-SO
28 Rafael Mora Midfielder 5-11 155 RS-SO
29 Chris Roell Forward 5-11 152 SO
31 Marcial "Marshall" Cazares Defender 5-9 150 SO
32 Kevin Garcia-Lopez Defender 5-6 142 RS-SO
33 Charlie Miller Midfielder 6-3 190 RS-FR
88 Michael Chavez Midfielder 5-9 160 SR

Total: 24

Coming In:
Transfers:
Cesar Castillo Midfielder Cerritos College
Dion Acoff Midfielder Creighton
Achille Campion Forward Belhaven University
Javier Castro Forward Mt. San Antonio College
Brandon Brockway Defender Oregon State
Dylan Murphy Defender New South Wales Institute of Sport (Australia)
Daniel Welsh Defender UMBC

Freshmen:
Ema Boateng Midfielder Cate School/SBSC
Nick Savino Goalkeeper Moorestown High School/Lions Soccer Academy

Total: 9

TOTAL: 33

At risk:
David Flores
Jordan Dorn

Also UCSB could be without the services of Glodack and Roell next year due to injuries. Hoping for the best for both of them.

CSN did their preview on UCSB: http://collegesoccernews.com/index_files/Page1893.htm

Somethings that stood out to me in the write-up:

- They don't talk about Cesar Castillo or Dylan Murphy. Though Cesar came last year and Dylan is a walk on with not much hype, still think they should have mentioned them.

- They don't put Ema's name in the mix for starters. He's their #9 prospect, but all they do is put his name at the bottom. I truly feel he will be battling for a LM starting role.

- They give the pipes to Grandt which myself and many others feel isn't a gimme. They called him a solid presence and I beg to differ. Some of his mistakes cost us last year. I think Mansker can end up taking that starting role.

This might be more appropriate in the 2011 thread, but I didn't want to bump it. Anyway, there are a couple 2011 highlight videos up that show pretty much every goal from the season. Man, I'm gonna miss Silva!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J7tswki8uk"]UCSB soccer season 2011 review part 1 - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKF0LdF2EGw"]UCSB soccer season 2011 review part 2 - YouTube[/ame]

I won't complain about these videos being in this thread. It helps us see who we have coming back and who we need to replace (i.e. players who others need to take the place of). One thing I do like about these videos is that it seems every goal we scored involved some sort of skill, not just a poach type of goal. There were some very nice goals scored this year, a lot by Silva. I think other than Garza the player that stands out in a few goals in terms of assists or goals is Sarle. I think he will be more comfortable this year and will be a big player on this team. I think he does need a supporting group of players and hopefully those around him can step up.

Thank goodness he survived. That is the most important thing. In a somewhat related post - just a couple weeks before I graduated in 2009, a classmate of mine was killed when he fell off a cliff during a party. His name was the first one read at our ceremony.

back to the post at hand - our defense should be better with McGlynn returning. we could have used him vs UC Irvine in the BW championships or Creighton in the Sweet 16 but at least he is good to go now

A healthy McGlynn was coming on strong last year I believe getting an assist in every game up until the point that he got hurt. I think that if he continues what he started last year he will be one of the top RB in the NCAA this year. He does improve our defense and offense, but there's more to it than just him. The proper CB match up, an emerging LB to replace Kiffe, and a solid GK between the posts are the big issues that will need to be met.

I went to school with Peter McGlynn. he was a freshman when I was a senior.

Ummm, thanks for that important piece of information that wasn't brought on by anything...

you are quite welcome

Anyways, I know that some spring games will be happening soon enough. Without anything official I can only assume that the Alumin weekend game against Westmont and the Alumni will happen. Other than that, expect some reserve teams from the MLS or maybe some USL/PDL teams as well. I did want to take a crack at the lineup that might start next year and see how it changes so here you go:

[LINEUP-4-3-3]Accoff,Campion,Sarle,Boateng,David,Baiden,Cazares,Schmetz,Welsh,McGlynn,Grandt[/LINEUP-4-3-3]

Subs: Madueno, Ryan, Castillo, Castro

I actually feel like this is a very possible lineup. You might see Mansker take the GK spot, and Boateng might not start right away. Also, LB is up in the air, but Cazares was taking hold of it towards the end of last season. To be honest, if all the players hold up to the hype than I believe this will be one heck of a line up.

Boateng is too legit, cannot WAIT to see how he does at UCSB. He might be a top 5 recruit out of this years class for me, despite his height because I assume he hasn't grown much.

So we had our first game of the spring season on Friday vs. Cerritos College. We won 2-0 with goals by the new guys Achille and Dion. The lineup looked like this:

[LINEUP-4-4-2]Campion,Sarle,Accoff,David,Baiden,Madueno,Glodack,Schmetz,Gomez,McGlynn,Grandt[/LINEUP-4-4-2]

Thayer came in for Gomez after 30 min. I'm not knowledgeable about any other subs since I was not there. I am kind of upset that there was no release about the spring schedule. Anyways, I am very happy the new guys are performing. I'm also happy to see Glodack back. The big question is the midfield and if MD and Fifi can work together. Last year they had off and on moments, but Fifi had a break out year in my opinion and though MD is a beast, Fifi has the upper hand. Also, Grandt played b/c Mansker is still getting back to 100%, but word is that when he is healthy he will get the nod to prove himself.

So here is the rest of the TENTATIVE Spring Schedule (I say tentative b/c things change all the time during spring). Decided to keep in collegiate instead of MLS/USL teams this year:

April 13th - CSUB 7pm Harder
April 20th - Westmont 3pm Westmont
April 20th - Mt. Sac 7pm Harder
April 28th - Alumni 230pm Harder
May 5th - UCSD 3:00pm Harder
May 5th - Oxnard College 6:30pm Oxnard College

A couple of double headers b/c I think the rule is you can only play on a certain number of days, but the games don't necessarily matter.

Gauchos won tonight vs. CSUB at San Marcos High (since Harder was rained out and SM had a full size turf field) 3-2. Achille had 2 goals, 1 unassisted and 1 off a cross from McGlynn. The GW goal came from a walk-on I believe. All I know about him is his name is Shane and apparently it was a very nice goal. A lot of players had the chance to play today which was good, and it seemed that CSUB took over when we had our weaker players in. The goals we gave up were sloppy. It was a rather scrappy game which is probably expected. This is how we started the game:

[LINEUP-4-4-2]Mora, Campion, Chavez, David, Baiden, Madueno, Glodack, Schmetz, Thayer, Garcia-Lopez, Grandt[/LINEUP-4-4-2]

After about 10 min McGlynn came on for G-L and Accoff came on for Chavez. Sarle came on for Mora at one point. Other players that got into the game were Gomez, Miller, Kyle Robinson (trying out with the team. Transferred from Santa Clara I believe a few years ago and didn't make the cut so has been playing club), and the new guy Shane (who unfortunately I know nothing about except he is a good finisher). Those players switched in and out in the 2nd half and I believe TVS tried a few players at new positions. Happy to get a win against a D-I opponent with a future pro (Gyasi Zardes 1 G, 1 A).

Did the matches on the 20th take place?

Yes they did. UCSB went 2-0 on the day with a 2-1 win over Westmont using primarily 2nd/3rd stringers and walk-ons, and then beat Mt. Sac 3-0 later that night. Here is a recap from someone there along with some of my own additions.

UCSB 2-1 Westmont

The Westmont match was relatively hard to follow. As mentioned, many of the players were walk-ons or low string. Also, no bleachers, and it's harder to follow the movement and flow of the match from field level. One player that stood out was the walk-on Aussie, Murphy. First, he looks a bit more like a CB, but his skills are obviously more suited as an outside back / wing back. He brings that Aussie physicality and courage. Wasn't shy about leaving his feet or crossing/switching the play... and did so well. Played end-to-end and took guys on with pretty good success. He earned a yellow card by appropriately bringing down Westmont's speedy and skillful #10 who was 40 yards away but potentially breaking away. On a FK that he took 10 yards into the Westmont half, he played a nice low 20 yard ball toward Okito, got a one time pass back, and one timed a well-weighted throughball at the endline for an on-running Gaucho. Nice play. Josue and Fifi did suit up and played about 10 minutes, but that was it.

UCSB 3-0 Mt. Sac
[LINEUP-4-4-2]Campion, Madueno, Accoff, Baiden, Murphy, David, Chavez, Schmetz, Glodack, McGlynn, Grandt[/LINEUP-4-4-2]

Campion, Madueno and David scored. McGlynn had 3 assists. Grandt had to save a penalty in the last few minutes of the game after McGlynn handled a ball that was going in on the goal line. First goal McGlynn gets to the endline, maybe near the edge of the box, and sends in a cross that Campion glances with a header into the goal from a few yards out. Second goal David receives a short pass as he sprints into the box and beats the keeper with a low finish inside the left post. Looks like he hurt his groin on the play. Came off, and he was done. This is not a good sign. Seems like he is starting to struggle with injuries. Third goal McGlynn crosses it in, Campion saves the bouncing ball at the endline to the left of the left post with a nifty back heel to the top of the 6 where Madueno had an easy finish.

Campion - Very good player. He didn't get a huge number of touches, but he's technically very sound. He had a very hard and long shot blocked, but the ball was struck with very nice form and power. He's not going to beat defenders with his speed. Uses his body very effectively to shield defenders. Could be the best target forward we've had since one Robert Friend. Played wide on occasion, but he's best suited as a center forward.

Acoff - I mention him mostly because he's new. He didn't stand out that much. Neither good nor bad. Has good speed.

The McGlynn-Campion connection may be very successful just as the McGlynn-Opoku connection was last year until McGlynn got injured.

Gauchos beat the UCSB Alumni (mixed with some 3rd stringers) last weekend 6-2. Wasn't really an intense game, but glad there was scoring.

But in other news, the schedule is out!!! Looks pretty solid though it's unfortunate to see no traveling back East or even Midwest. Hope that all the teams we play can be up there in RPI to help us out. The schedule does look like one where we could get away with only have 2-4 losses.

Date Opponent/Event Location Time/Result Links Notes
August
Sat 18 Westmont Santa Barbara, Calif. 7:00 PM
Sun 26 at Loyola Marymount Los Angeles, Calif. 3:00 PM
Fri 31 vs. Oregon St. Spokane, Wash. 1:30 PM (@ Gonzaga)
September
Sun 2 at Gonzaga Spokane, Wash. 2:00 PM
Fri 7 Valparaiso Santa Barbara, Calif. 7:30 PM
Fri 14 at San Diego San Diego, Calif. 7:00 PM
Sun 16 at Seattle Seattle, Wash. 3:00 PM
Fri 21 UCLA Santa Barbara, Calif. 7:00 PM
Sun 23 Harvard Santa Barbara, Calif. 12:00 PM
Fri 28 at UC Riverside * Riverside, Calif. 7:00 PM
Sun 30 at Cal State Fullerton * Fullerton, Calif. 7:30 PM
October
Fri 5 UC Irvine * Santa Barbara, Calif. 7:00 PM
Sun 7 Cal State Northridge * Santa Barbara, Calif. 5:00 PM
Sat 13 at UC Davis * Davis, Calif. 3:00 PM
Tue 16 Sacramento State * 7:00 PM
Fri 19 Cal Poly * Santa Barbara, Calif. 7:00 PM
Fri 26 Stanford Santa Barbara, Calif. 7:00 PM
Sun 28 UC Davis * Santa Barbara, Calif. 2:00 PM
Wed 31 at Sacramento State * Sacramento, Calif. 3:00 PM
November
Sat 3 at Cal Poly * San Luis Obispo, Calif. 7:00 PM
Wed 7 at Big West Semifinals TBD TBA
Sat 10 at Big West Championship TBD TBA

I have a question with the schedule. For the past several years the Westmont game has been an exhibition match but that isn't indicated on this year's schedule. If indeed the Westmont match is a 'real' game then how does it impact the Gauchos RPI being that they are an NAIA program?

Does not look like the OOC schedule will yield teams with a reasonable RPI except for UCLA and probably Harvard.

would have been nice to make a return trip to Akron. at least we still have our OOC game with UCLA. any word yet on tv dates?

Yes,would have been great for a Zips-Gauchos contest in Akron. Damn lack of travel budget.

With a couple of exceptions, the teams are all out west so your hopes of hi RPIs cannot happen since it is pretty much a zero sum game due to travel costs. The stronger the west is overall, the worse it will be for SB since it will be that much more difficult to post an exceptional record against a group of very strong teams.