The No. 11 Cal men's soccer team will have to make a quick turnaround after its decisive 3-0 win over the University of San Francisco this past weekend as it continues its trip through the postseason.

The Bears have had just three days off before travelling down to Santa Barbara for their second-round opponent in the College Cup, 15th-seeded UC Santa Barbara.

Cal plays tonight at Harder Stadium at 7 p.m. against a squad that earned one of two first-round byes in the region's bracket. With the break, the Gauchos have not played a game since Nov. 15.

But the short time span between games was on the player's minds soon after the final whistle Friday.

"We wanted to make sure that we would take all the necessary steps to get enough rest and not be tired for this game," goalkeeper Stefan Frei said. "We focused on all the details to be sure we would be feeling our best for this game after the last game, having guys talk to the trainers and everything they needed."

The Bears (11-3-5, 5-2-3 in the Pac-10) are riding a four-game winning streak after closing out the regular season with three straight wins and earning their appearance in the second round of the tournament with their Friday win over the Dons.

UCSB (10-6-5) hasn't won a game since defeating Cal State Northridge on Oct. 29, but qualified for the tournament by earning one of four bids given to the Big West Conference. This is the seventh straight trip to the postseason for the Gauchos, who in 2006 went all the way to win the national championship.

The Cal defense will once again take on a prolific forward in UCSB senior Chris Pontius, a MAC Hermann Trophy nominee who has scored 14 goals this season.

But Pontius will be trying to score past a fellow Hermann Trophy nominee in Frei, who has anchored the Bears backline all season. Frei led the Pac-10 in goals against average and shutouts with eight at the end of the regular season.

The junior's 20 career clean sheets place him fourth in the Cal record books, two away from third place, held by former keeper Chris Baudouin.

Overall, these teams already have a history, with the Bears leading the all-time series 14-11-3. When it comes to the postseason, however, the squads are more evenly matched.

In 2002, Cal defeated the Gauchos, 2-1, in Berkeley to give coach Kevin Grimes his first postseason victory at Cal-and the first postseason victory the program had ever seen.

Only a year later, UCSB would return the favor, shutting out the Bears, 2-0, in Santa Barbara to send them out of the tournament.

"We know they are a good side," Frei said. "We haven't played them in a few seasons so we haven't really paid attention. But I am sure we will study it and try to find a weakness we can exploit, or a strength that we will have to prepare for."

Should the Bears win today, they would play Saturday, Nov. 29, or the following Sunday against the winner of the game between Maryland and George Mason.

Tags: CAL MEN'S SOCCER, KEVIN GRIMES, NCAA TOURNAMENT