RISING GAUCHOS TURN JEERS TO CHEERS UCSB BATTLES `MODEL' FOR FIRST CROWN.

Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services

CARSON - UC Santa Barbara has turned heads with its play on the soccer field this fall. At season's end, the Gauchos are starting to change some minds.

UCSB (21-2-1) makes its first appearance in an NCAA men's soccer championship this afternoon, taking on six-time champion Indiana (18-4-1) at Home Depot Center. The Hoosiers, seeking their second successive title, have new-found respect for their foe.

After the Gauchos ascended to No. 1 in the polls following a 1-0 overtime upset of Indiana on Sept. 18 in Albuquerque, N.M., Hoosiers coach Mike Freitag told Soccer America magazine: ``It's just a shame that a team like that is ranked No. 1. ... It's not the physical stuff so much that bothers me - I can respect a team that plays physical - but it's the stuff off the ball, there's a lack of class.

``Every time there's a foul, kicking the ball away. It's by hook or crook with them. They come with an attitude.''

Freitag, a rookie coach who succeeded coaching legend Jerry Yeagley after last year's title win, changed his tune Friday night after UC Santa Barbara buried Duke 5-0 in the College Cup semifinals.

``I was very impressed,'' Freitag said. ``I saw a team that played hard and fairly, that was committed to playing the game the right way. I think they've matured a lot.''

Freitag wasn't alone in denouncing UCSB. The Gauchos' victories in September over Connecticut and Seton Hall at Storrs, Conn., were followed by condemnations that they played ``negative'' soccer.

Seton Hall's Manny Schellscheidt, among the most respected coaches in the country, decried Santa Barbara's ``win-at-all-costs'' style of play. ``The part that stood out the most for me,'' he told Soccer America, ``was that if you beat them on the dribble, chances are you're going to get fouled.''

Connecticut coach Ray Reid said the Gauchos' play ``shocked'' him and said UCSB ``stepped over the line a few times. ... UConn won't be playing them ever again, unless it's in the postseason, at least not while I'm here.''

UC Santa Barbara coach Tim Vom Steeg defended his tactics, noting in Soccer America that ``Indiana is a perfect example of a team that you don't like playing against. ... If anything, we've tried to model our style after Indiana's.''

It's paid quick dividends. Vom Steeg guided the Gauchos to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 2002, his fourth season in charge, and again last year. They won one game each time.

This year's team, which sustained one of its losses to Cal State Northridge in Big West Conference play, is led by forward Drew McAthy (17 goals, 7 assists), who has scored 10 game-winning goals, and New Zealanders Neil Jones (10 goals, 8 assists) up front and Tony Lochhead on the backline. Lochhead, who plays for New Zealand's national team, on Saturday was selected a second-team All-American, and McAthy a third-teamer, by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

The Hoosiers, who edged Maryland in overtime Friday, is led by first- team All-Americans Drew Moor, a defender, and Danny O'Rourke, a midfielder. O'Rourke is one of three finalists for the Missouri Athletic Club/Hermann Trophy, college soccer's Heisman equivalent.

``It's all set up for us,'' said Vom Steeg, whose team has played before partisan crowds of more than 10,000 its past two games. ``How sweet would it be to win a national championship and have it over a defending national champion, a six-time national champion.''

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NCAA MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP