College Cup (NCAA soccer, Santa Barbara) details

People were talking in the soccer threads yesterday about going to Santa Barbara for the College Cup semifinals on Friday.  I haven't seen any follow-up since then, so I figured it would be good to share what I've figured out about going to the game.  If you know anything, please post.

First, according to NCAA.com, Michigan vs. Akron is the late game, starting at 8:00 p.m. Pacific.  http://www.ncaa.com/brackets/2010/ncaa_bracket_DI_soccer_men.html  That's good news for people like me driving from LA for the game, since I won't have to miss much work to get to the game.

EDIT: The game will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPNU and will be on espn3.com.  It may be preempted on ESPN2 by the end of a I-AA football playoff game.  I'm not completely convinced it will be on both ESPN2 and ESPNU, but that's what ESPN's listings currently say.

EDIT: The Michigan ticket office has all-session tickets for sale in the Michigan section for $40.  I spoke to the ticket office today, and if you buy from them, you pick up the tickets in Santa Barbara and they give you a wristband entitling you to sit behind the Michigan bench.  Call the ticket office at 866-296-6849 by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Tuesday if you want these tickets.

General admission tickets are also available for $40 for all sessions, or $25 for the semifinals only.  https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2/team.asp?SponsorID=3011  Tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.  These tickets appear to allow you to sit anywhere in the bleachers on the opposite side of the field from the Michigan section.

The stadium at UCSB seats 17,000, which seems very large for an event like this, especially when there are no West Coast teams playing.  http://ucsbgauchos.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/cupharder.html  Here's a seat map: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ucsb/sports/m-soccer/auto_pdf/ccseatmap.pdf  I doubt it will sell out quickly, since a lot of MLS teams have trouble getting 17,000 people to show up for a game.

I can't find the exact address of the stadium, but here's a link that should be pretty close, if you want to plan your route: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=stadium+rd,…

EDIT: Flying to the Game.  I'm not sure how many people are so dedicated M soccer fans that they'll fly to the game.  If that's you, bluebyyou points out that Santa Barbara has a small airport, but there are very few flights there, and they tend to be extremely expensive.  The closest major airport is LAX, but because of traffic concerns, it might actually be an easier drive if you fly into Burbank.  Burbank is a much more pleasant airport than LAX anyway.  Expect a 2-3 hour drive from LA to Santa Barbara, and if you're coming in on Friday afternoon, leave substantially more time than that just to be safe.

Are there any LA traffic experts out there with ideas about getting to the game?  I'll probably need to leave late Friday afternoon, which unfortunately is about the worst time of the week to try to drive for Santa Barbara.  I've seen some nasty traffic up there on the 101, but that was in the summer, and I'm hoping there will be fewer people driving up there for the weekend in December.  If I'm coming from downtown, should I take the 101 the whole way, or would it be better to take the 170 to the 5 to the 118, in the hope of avoiding traffic in the Valley on the 101? 

I apologize to everyone who doesn't live in LA for that last sentence.