The UC Irvine Men's Soccer team has taken the Big West Championship! The Anteaters beat the Gauchos 4-2 with UCSB getting its only two goals on penalty kicks at the end of the game. This is not only Irvine's first Big West Championship but its first appearance in the NCAA tournament. 

Game Coverage:

Freshman keeper Andrew Fontein (Las Vegas, Nev./Sierra Vista HS) was named the Big West Tournament Most Valuable Player after having nine saves for the `Eaters. Keeper Kristopher Minton had four saves for the Gauchos.

The crowd of 1,832 was the largest crowd in Anteater Stadium history. UCI's four goals came on their first four shots.

The Anteaters earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament with the victory and will await pairings announced that will be unveiled Monday at 3:00 p.m. (PST) on ESPN News. This will be UCI's first ever trip to the Men's Soccer NCAA Tournament. 

The men's soccer team will be at the Student Center Pub on Monday at 3 p.m. to hear who they have been paired against for the first round. This is a huge moment for Irvine soccer and Irvine sports in general.