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Phone: 805.893.3473
E-Mail: Tim.VomSteeg@athletics.ucsb.edu
2004 & 2006 NSCAA National Coach of the Year • 2004 & 2005 Big West Conference Coach of the Year • 2008 California Community College Coaches Hall of Fame Inductee
Tim Vom Steeg enters his 11th season as head coach of the UC Santa Barbara men's soccer program, having guided the Gauchos to five Big West Conference titles in the last eight years and seven consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament. He was named NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year by the NSCAA for the second time after leading UCSB to the program's first national championship in 2006.
In 2008, Vom Steeg was elected to the California Community College Coaches Hall of Fame after his stellar coaching career at Santa Barbara City College before he began coaching at UCSB.
In 2005, Vom Steeg became the career victory leader at UCSB after surpassing Andy Kuenzli (1981-89) with his 96th win when the Gauchos defeated UC Davis in double overtime Oct. 26. He went on to become the first coach in program history to reach the 100-win plateau after he led that squad to a 2-0 victory over San Diego State in the opening round of the NCAAs. The Gauchos tied a school record with nine players chosen to all-conference teams in 2005.
In his ten years at UCSB Vom Steeg has comprised an overall record of 140-56-20, making him the 10th-winningest coach at the Division I level with a .694 winning percentage. In addition to garnering Big West Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2005, Vom Steeg earned his first NCAA National Coach of the Year award after guiding the Gauchos to their first ever College Cup appearance in 2004. He also earned his first Big West Coach of the Year award that season. In his first year with the Gauchos, he was named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Co-Coach of the Year.
Since taking over the helm of the men's soccer program in 1999, he has coached 15 players who are currently playing professional soccer, including two in Europe and 11 in Major League Soccer. With just one All-American to come out of UCSB prior to his arrival, Vom Steeg has produced a total of 15 -- including two Freshman All-Americans -- in addition to the Big West's Offensive Player of the Year five of the last eight years. He has also coached three conference goalkeepers of the year and has produced the Big West's Defensive Player of the Year in four of the last five seasons.
Vom Steeg guided Santa Barbara to its first ever Big West Conference Championship in his third season in 2001 and led the Gauchos to a 13-7-0 record in his first year at the helm of the UCSB men's soccer program in 1999. He was named the MPSF Pacific Division Co-Coach of the Year at the end of the season after guiding Santa Barbara to a 10.5-game improvement on their 1998 record, the best turnaround in the NCAA at the Division I level that year.
Vom Steeg achieved a milestone in 2002, guiding Santa Barbara to its first ever NCAA Tournament and posting its first tourney victory in the process. Since then, UCSB has recorded a 14-5 overall record in NCAA tourney play, advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2003, to the national title match in 2004, and winning the NCAA Championship in 2006. Furthermore, Santa Barbara has never lost a postseason match at Harder Stadium, going 8-0.
Vom Steeg solidified his program's standing amongst the best in the nation in 2003, trumping the standards set by the previous year's team. Playing one of the top-five toughest schedules in the country, the Gauchos advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time, where they lost in double-overtime to the eventual national runner-up St. John's.
Then came the 2004 squad's trip to the College Cup, where the Gauchos dismantled Duke 5-0 in the semifinals to reach the program's first national final. UCSB battled Indiana to a 1-1 double-overtime tie in the NCAA National Championship match, before losing 3-2 in a penalty kick shoot-out. After earning the program's first ever No. 1 national ranking in week four, UCSB spent a majority of the season there, entering the tournament with the tag of "nation's best." Santa Barbara wound up finishing the year with a school-record and nation's second-best 21-3-1 overall record and No. 2 final ranking.
Two years later, the Gauchos were back in the College Cup, only this time they would not be denied. UCSB battled a very good Wake Forest team through a scoreless 110 minutes in the semifinals, forcing another shoot-out during college soccer's final weekend. 2006 proved to be the Gauchos' year as they prevailed 4-3 to return to the final, where UCLA awaited. Nick Perera scored just 2:12 into the match and Eric Avila added the game-winner early in the second half as UCSB went on to win 2-1 and capture the NCAA National Championship. The win was just the third ever for the Gauchos against the Bruins and first since 1982. Perera was named the College Cup Most Outstanding Offensive Player, while Andy Iro took home top defender billing.
Unlike the 2004 season, things did not come easy for the 2006 squad. With a record of 7-6 and out of the national rankings at one point during the season, Santa Barbara rebounded to win 11 of its final 12 games -- including six straight contests in the tournament -- capping an improbable run to the school's second national title as an institution.
The Gauchos had a very successful follow-up to their championship campaign two years ago, finishing 13-4-4 overall and an impressive 9-1-2 in conference play to capture a fifth Big West title since 2001. UCSB received a No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16, only to fall to eventual national runner-up Ohio State. Santa Barbara made program history once again in January with a school-record six players chosen in the MLS draft. Ciaran O'Brien was selected by Colorado with the No. 5 overall pick, while Andy Iro went to Columbus at No. 6, becoming the first two Gauchos to be selected in the first round of the SuperDraft. In January, Chris Pontius was the No. 7 overall pick and went to DC United.
Prior to his return to UCSB, Vom Steeg was the head coach at Santa Barbara City College, where he amassed an impressive 121-18-4 (.860) overall record from 1992 through 1998, leading the Vaqueros to five Western State Conference Championships and a 1996 California Community College State Championship. In addition, SBCC reached the State Final Four four times under Vom Steeg, most recently in his final season, 1998. Vom Steeg was a five-time WSC Coach of the Year honoree during his seven-year tenure and was also named State Coach of the Year in 1996 and NSCAA Far West Region Coach of the Year in 1997.
Vom Steeg played at UCSB from 1985 to 1988, and graduated in 1989 with a B.A. in history. He received his master's degree from UCSB in 2000. He has also earned his USSF National "B" Coaching License.
Vom Steeg resides in Santa Barbara and is married to Almeria Vom Steeg. They have four sons: Justin, Carson, and twins Caden and Jared.
