UC Santa Barbara and No. 11 UCLA, who meet Thursday in the first West Coast clash of the NSCAA Match of the Week series on Fox Soccer Channel (TV, live, 11 pm ET), have had their ups and downs in the 2006 men's season.
The Gauchos opened with a 5-0 win over nationally ranked Akron but dropped out of the Top 25 this week after a 5-0 loss to Cal State Northridge in a Big West game that saw three Gauchos sent off. Midfielder Brennan Tennelle and forward Tony Chinakwe will have to sit out UCLA game after receiving red cards in UCSB's following match, a 1-0 victory over Michigan.
Freshman Bongomin Otii leads UCSB with five goals, but he has not scored a goal since the Gauchos played UIC on Sept. 8.
UCLA is 6-1-1 in its last eight games after opening with a 0-0 tie with Cal State Northridge and losses to Maryland (4-1) and Virginia (1-0) on the road. The Bruins picked up their biggest win of the season last week when they beat previously unbeaten Washington, 2-1, in overtime.
Coach Jorge Salcedo has one of the youngest teams in the country with five freshmen and three sophomores starting against UW. Freshman Kyle Nakazawa and sophomore Sal Zizzo are considered two of the most promising pro prospects in the college ranks.
UCLA has dominated UCSB, holding a 27-2-2 advantage in the all-time series. The Gauchos' last win in the series came in 1982.