The Gauchos wrapped up the Big West championship and an automatic berth in the 2007 NCAA Men's Tournament with a 3-2 win at Cal State Northridge on Tuesday.
After falling behind, 2-0, UCSB came all the way back to win at Matador Soccer Field and clinch its fifth Big West title in the last seven years.
UCSB rallied to win at Cal State Fullerton, 2-1, on late goals David Walker and Alfonso Motagalvan, and it did it again at Northridge, where it won for the first time since 2000
Chris Pontius scored two goals, winning the game with UCSB's first penalty kick of the season, and Eric Avila recorded assists on Pontius' first goal and Tino Nunez's tying goal to lead UCSB to its second consective comeback win.
With several starters, including Avila and Nunez on the bench, the Gauchos dug themselves a hole by falling behind on goals Devin Deldo and Sam Franklin in the first 22 minutes.
"I am very, very pleased with our result here today," UCSB coach Tim Vom Steeg said. "This has obviously been a difficult place to play for us over the years but I still felt good about our chances even down 2-0 because this team is playing extremely well right now and can find a way to win. I love the way we are playing going forward."
BIG WEST CHAMPIONS
1983 Fresno State
1984 UNLV
1985 UNLV
1986 Fresno State, Cal State Fullerton
1987 Fresno State
1988 Fresno State
1989 Fresno State
1990 Fresno State
1991 Fresno State
2001 UC Santa Barbara
2002 UC Santa Barbara
2003 Cal State Northridge
2004 UC Santa Barbara
2005 Cal State Northridge
2006 UC Santa Barbara
2007 UC Santa Barbara
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