MEN'S SOCCER: UC SANTA BARBARA 1, CSUN 0 LOSS COULD RUIN TOURNEY HOPES.

Byline: SEAN CEGLINSKY Staff Writer

SANTA BARBARA -- The Cal State Northridge men's soccer team entered Wednesday's showdown against rival UC Santa Barbara knowing full well that a loss would all but ruin any hopes it had at successfully defending its Big West Conference title.

After a 1-0 setback at Harder Stadium, the Matadors' aspirations of repeating appear to be a mere afterthought and, perhaps more important, they must now face the growing possibility of missing out on the postseason entirely.

``We came into this game knowing it was going to be tough. Santa Barbara always is,'' CSUN coach Terry Davila said. ``I'm proud of the way we played though. We have to keep our heads up.''

With a little more than a week remaining in the regular season, the Gauchos (11-6-0, 6-2-0) sit atop the conference standings with 18 points. UC Irvine (10-3-3, 4-2-1) entered its match Wednesday night against Cal State Fullerton in second place with 13 points. CSUN (5-6-5, 3-2-3) is third with 12 points and has three more home games in the regular season.

The conference champion earns an automatic berth for the NCAA Tournament, which begins Nov. 10th and 11th, and the second-place finisher typically receives an at-large berth.

A defensive lapse by the Matadors led to the only score of the game.

The Gauchos' Bryan Byrne carried the ball up the right sideline and beat two defenders before finding Eric Avila in the middle of the box. Avila gained possession and subsequently beat Kevin Guppy in the 27th minute of the first half.

``We're disappointed with the result but we never gave up,'' Matadors senior Taylor Canel said.

``The tournament isn't out of reach yet. If we take care of business and win our next three, we have a shot.''

The Gauchos had lost three consecutive to the Matadors, including a 5-0 setback Sept. 27.

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