It was an improbable end to an improbable season.
It was an improbable end to an improbable season.
University of California-Santa Barbara, left for dead in midseason, shocked the soccer world with a 2-1 win Sunday over UCLA in the NCAA Division 1 title game.
Playing a leading role in securing the College Cup for the Gauchos was Gilroy High graduate Alfonso Montagalvan, who knocked a ball headed for the goal aside in the second half to help preserve the victory.
“Everything seemed to be against us, but we just looked at each other before the final game and said let’s get it done,” Montagalvan said. “We found a way to get it done.”
The Gauchos (17-7-1) were unranked heading into the playoffs. Coach Tim Vom Steeg was at wit’s end when the team dropped to 7-6 after a loss at University of California-Riverside.
To add insult to injury that day, UCSB’s bus got stuck on a curb for three hours as the players got to contemplate a season on the brink. Vom Steeg greeted the team after that game and told them to prepare for some major changes, that he was ready to use younger players to salvage the season.
It never came to that as the Gauchos went 10-1-1 in their final 12 games to win the title.
And yet it never came easy. In the semifinals against No. 2 seeded Wake Forest, UCSB played 110 minutes before winning on penalty kicks. Meanwhile UCLA breezed past Virginia 4-0.
The final game was a rematch of a game the Bruins won easily 3-1 in midseason. A goal and assist by Nick Perera proved to be the difference.
It was UCSB’s first soccer title and just second title overall, and kept UCLA from claiming its 100th NCAA championship.
