In the aftermath of UCSB soccer player Peter McGlynn’s physical assault on a referee after Sunday’s match against UC Davis, McGlynn has been removed from the team, the team will forgo participating in postseason play and head coach Tim Vom Steeg has been suspended for the Gauchos’ Wednesday match at Sacramento State, UCSB Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mark Massari announced in a statement on Monday.
Massari said regardless of the outcome of Big West matches at Sacramento State and Saturday at Cal Poly, UCSB will not play in the postseason. He also said that assistant coach Greg Wilson will serve as acting head coach for the Wednesday match in Sacramento.
UCSB athletics administration collaborated with the Big West Conference on the actions.
“I hold everyone in our program responsible for representing the University in a positive manner at all times, top-to-bottom,” Massari said in the statement.
UCSB received the support of Big West Conference Commissioner Dennis Farrell.
“The Big West Conference regards the sportsmanship of our coaches and student-athletes and the safety of our game officials as the highest of priorities. As such, I fully support the UCSB administration’s proactive response to Sunday’s unfortunate incident,” said Farrell in a statement.
By not advancing to the postseason, the Gauchos’ streak of 10-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances will end. The 10 appearances included a 2006 National Championship and an appearance in the 2004 College Cup final.
Sunday’s 2-1 overtime loss to UC Davis at Harder Stadium all but ended UCSB’s hopes of making the Big West Tournament. There is a maximum of six points (2 wins) available, and they trail first-place UC Davis by eight points and second-place Sacramento by six in the conference’s Northern Division.
The Gaucho season began to unravel when key starters suffered injuries. They lost their standout forward, 6-5 center back and a defensive midfielder for several matches. They continued to battle in games but struggled to score goals. After a 2-1 overtime win against UC Irvine on Oct. 8, they scored only four goals in their next six matches and won just once — a 2-0 win over Sacramento State. They suffered a devastating home loss to Cal Poly, giving up the tying goal in the last minute of regulation before falling in overtime.
