The UCSD men’s soccer team rode into the Cal Poly Pomona match on a hot streak, unbeaten in its last eight matches.

The Broncos came into the match with a record of 7-8-3 overall and 4-6-3 in league play. The Tritons were 11-2-2 overall, and 9-2-2 in league play.

With the loss of Triton midfielder Ryan Mizumoto, UCSD had to step up on the field and make something happen. This was the match to determine where their weaknesses were, leading into the CCAA championships and hopefully the NCAA Division II championship match.

While playing well, the outcome was not good for the Tritons. Pomona prevailed in a close 2-1 game to end league play matches for the 2000 season.

Pomona scored early, with two goals within the first 10 minutes of play. John Picco found the net first, and a Pacual Villegas goal was assisted by Theo Hetherington to break things open.

The game was 2-0 going into halftime, and UCSD’s Daniel Appel came out and scored an early second-half goal to make things interesting.

From then on, no team found the net, and the game ended 2-1. The Tritons only had three shots on goal, compared to eight by the Broncos.

“”We were all off,”” said Triton midfielder Sean Summers. “”We couldn’t get anything going early, and the conditions made it tougher. This was the last league match for Pomona, so they sent off all their seniors and played all of them. They were pumped, and we couldn’t play against their enthusiasm.””

UCSD must find their stride in time for playoffs. Hopefully they will be able to look back to their eight game win streak and recapture the feel they had there.

The Tritons finished with a league record of 11-3-2. This sets them up as either a No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the CCAA Championships beginning Nov. 2.

UCSD will play on Nov. 3 against Sonoma State, a team the Tritons lost to earlier this season. The winner will then go on to face the CCAA favorite, the first-ranked CSU Dominguez Hills.