Needing just one point to clinch a second consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Association South division title, the UCSD men’s soccer team was upset 2-1 by last-place Grand Canyon on Senior Night at Triton Soccer Stadium.
Last chance: UCSD forward Brett Maurer dribbles past an Antelope defender. The Tritons failed to clinch the CCAA South division title against the Antelopes.
After Triton midfielder Sean Summers, who was playing his last regular season game at home, scored the first goal of the game for UCSD, the Antelopes answered with back-to-back goals to stun the Tritons and open the door for second-place Cal State San Bernardino to challenge for the division crown.
UCSD could have clinched the South division championship on Oct. 25 with a win over Cal State San Bernardino, but the road game was postponed due to the Southern California wildfires. Since the Coyotes knocked off Cal Poly Pomona on Nov. 1, Cal State San Bernardino has inched back into the picture. The Tritons will make up the game against the Coyotes on Nov. 3. A UCSD win will give it the division title, but a Cal State San Bernardino victory will result in a tie between the two teams in the standings. The Coyotes would win the tiebreaker over the Tritons because they have a better record against other CCAA South teams.
“”We screwed up,”” UCSD head coach Derek Armstrong said. “”This was an unbelievable screw-up.””
In the early going, UCSD looked like the better team, putting pressure on the Antelope defense. In the first 15 minutes of the game, the Tritons recorded three shots on goal, a couple of them coming on one-on-one situations with Grand Canyon goalkeeper Byron Bent.
UCSD finally put one by Bent in the game’s 19th minute. UCSD freshman midfielder Brett Maurer took control of the ball at midfield and pushed it up past two Antelope defenders. He crossed it to Summers, who blasted a shot from the left side to give the Tritons a 1-0 lead.
Grand Canyon got the equalizing goal on a penalty kick at the 31:01 mark. After the Antelopes sent a free kick into the penalty box, the ball bounced up and hit Triton defender Jonathan Shum’s arm. Grand Canyon midfielder Ben Scott converted on the consequent penalty kick and tied the game going into halftime.
In the second half, Grand Canyon took the lead in the 79th minute when midfielder Ryan Velasquez scored off of a rebound on a messy play. Several players crowded the box and UCSD goalkeeper Jeremy Cookson couldn’t get his hands on the ball before it got by him.
The Tritons desperately tried to tie the game late in the second half, but they came up short on the opportunities that they earned. Their best chance came when Summers took a free kick from about 30 yards out and clanked it off the crossbar with 10 minutes left.
“”We did enough to win,”” Armstrong said. “”We just didn’t execute on our scoring chances.””
Throughout the game, UCSD missed the leadership of injured defenders junior Luke Russell and senior Ryan Blair. The Tritons allowed 12 shots and Cookson was forced to make four saves.
On Senior Night, the Tritons bid a farewell to six players, including Blair, Cookson, midfielder Ryan Mizumoto, Shum and Alexis Tello. Although the night is supposed to be memorable for the players who might be making their final appearance at home, it may have taken some of the attention away from what the Tritons really wanted to do ‹ clinch the CCAA South title.
“”I hope it didn’t affect us on the field, but we might have lost some of our focus tonight,”” Armstrong said.
The Tritons have clinched at least a wild card berth in the CCAA Championship Tournament, which will begin on Nov. 7 at Cal State Dominguez Hills’ Toro Field. Chico State and Cal State Dominguez Hills have also clinched spots in the tournament. The semifinals will be played at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Nov. 7, and the finals are scheduled for 2 p.m. on Nov. 9.
Although UCSD is guaranteed to play in one of the semifinal games this upcoming weekend, it wants to wrap up the division with a win against Cal State San Bernardino on Nov. 3.
“”This game [against Grand Canyon] was a major hiccup,”” Armstrong said. “”Now we just have to go up to San Bernardino and take care of it there.””