UCSB has picked up six individual awards to add to its first Big West Tournament championship.
The conference honored junior midfielder Danny Barrera, senior goalkeeper Sam Hayden, senior defender Michael Boxall, sophomore forward Sam Garza and freshman forward David Opoku as its players of the year, and Tim Vom Steeg was voted Coach of the Year for the third time in his career.
In addition, nine Gauchos were named to all-conference teams, including a league-best six on the first unit.
Sophomore midfielder Machael David and junior midfielder Luis Silva joined Garza, Barrera, Boxall and Hayden on the All-Big West First Team. Except for Garza, the other five are repeat first-team honorees.
Junior defender Peter McGlynn joined Freshman of the Year Opoku on the second team, and junior defender Chris Hunter was an honorable mention selection.
Barrera and Hayden are repeat winners as midfielder and goalkeeper of the year.
Barrera, the Gauchos’ playmaker, is first back-to-back winner of the midfielder award in the conference and the first consecutive MVP of any kind since former UCSB star Andy Iro won three consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards from 2005-07.
Barrera scored four goals and doled out seven assists during the season, with six of the assists coming in conference play.
Hayden is the first goalkeeper to earn consecutive GOK honors since UCSB standout Dan Kennedy in 2003-04. The senior ranks second in the Big West in goals against average (0.72), second in shutouts (8), third in save percentage (.814) and is tied for fifth in saves (57).
Boxall becomes the seventh UCSB defender to win the Big West honor. He is part of a defense that has allowed just 15 goals in 20 matches, for a 0.75 per game average.?
Garza, a transfer from Denver, scored nine goals and added six assists in his first season at UCSB. He share the Offensive Player of the Year award with UC Irvine’s Amani Walker. Garza’s 24 points tied him for first in the league. He tied for second in goals and tied for third in assists.
Opoku also had huge impact on the team in his first year. He tied for fifth in the league in points (17) and goals (6) and tied for seventh in assists (5).
After getting out to a 0-2-2 start, Vom Steeg’s Gauchos rebounded to earn their ninth consecutive berth into the NCAA Tournament with a 13-4-3 record — the 10th straight year they’ve won 10 or more games. UCSB finished second in the regular season standings with a 7-2-1 league record and won the Big West Tournament for the first time.
Vom Steeg has a career record of 170-65-24 and received coach of the year honors in 2004 and 2005.
UCSB will host Denver in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at Meredith Field at Harder Stadium at 7 p.m.
?Tickets to the game can be purchased by calling (805) 893-UCSB, visiting the Ticket Office located inside the Intercollegiate Athletics building on campus or online at UCSBgauchos.com.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth, high school and college students.? ?
