Playing Footy

On their 10th consecutive foray into the NCAA Division 1 men’s soccer tournament, the UCSB Gauchos tried, but they could not muster the magic that had culminated in a national championship in 2006. The Gauchos’ vaunted attack was stalled by the nation’s best defense, and the Creighton Bluejays prevailed by a 2-1 score last Sunday.

The “Sweet 16” match took place on Creighton’s home field in Omaha, Nebraska, where temperatures hovered in the 30s. “It was the coldest weather I’ve ever been in,” said James Kiffe, a UCSB senior who grew up in Santa Barbara. For Kiffe, the end of his college playing career was doubly frustrating. He was able to last only 15 minutes in the second half on a badly injured left ankle.

“I wanted to go in, because I couldn’t sit out potentially my last game,” he said. “But I was useless. I couldn’t kick with my left foot.” Kiffe had propelled the Gauchos with that foot during the season, roaming the left flank, picking up balls, and dribbling and driving them forward. He was named the Defender of the Year in the Big West Conference. “It’s a little surprising,” Kiffe said, noting that he was not strictly a defender. “Tim Pontius could have gotten the award, and Fifi Baiden deserved more recognition.” Baiden, a sophomore, was UCSB’s central defensive midfielder. “He was very selfless and had a tremendous work rate,” Kiffe said.