The UCSD men’s soccer team is trying to work the kinks out of its overtime play. The Tritons once again found themselves playing more than two periods on Oct. 23 against No. 11 Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson, Calif., following a scoreless regulation. With the game on the line, the Tritons could not find a hero in this match and lost 1-0 in the 92nd minute to the Toros.
With this most recent defeat, the Tritons fall to 7-3-3 overall and 6-3-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Toros remain undefeated in the CCAA and are the team to beat going into the playoffs, which are scheduled for Nov. 5 through Nov. 7.
The Tritons could be staying home come November, thanks to Francisco Corona’s penalty shot that was awarded following a controversial Triton penalty charged to Kei Kamara. Corona’s goal came on his eighth shot of the game, proving that UCSD’s normally stingy defense could not hold back the powerful Toros. Cal State Dominguez Hills outshot the Tritons 19-6, including 3-0 in overtime. Senior goalkeeper Edward Ruhland kept the game in reach with five saves, but the Toro offense bombarded the Tritons shot after shot. According to senior defenseman Luke Russell, however, the shot count is misleading.
“The numbers look intimidating,” Russell said. “But, we forced them to take long shots, and they only put six shots on frame. We played very good defense.”
Cal State Dominguez Hills’ goalkeeper Kyle Polak played all 92 minutes, 36 seconds of the game and recorded a shutout with one save. UCSD’s offense was shut down by a Toro defense that stopped almost all of UCSD’s scoring chances. Corona had more shots than the entire Triton team and the Toros more than tripled UCSD’s shot count. Junior midfielder and Triton point leader Matthew Davey was held to only one shot in the game.
Russell, despite the loss, thinks that the Tritons looked good against Cal State Dominguez Hills and is not fazed by the loss.
“We played very well and we know it,” he said. “And [the Toros] know it too.”
Overtime has been friend and foe to the Tritons this year, especially against Cal State Dominguez Hills. On Sept. 22 at RIMAC Field, the two teams found themselves in a scoreless tie at the end of regulation, and at the end of two overtime periods, it remained scoreless. This season, the Tritons are 1-2-3 in overtime with three games remaining in the regular season, including a makeup of the Oct. 20 game against Cal Poly Pomona that was rained out. The Tritons also play both Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Bakersfield in October. All three of the upcoming games are at RIMAC Field, where the Tritons are 4-0-3.
“Hopefully, we won’t even have to play in OT in the next three games,” Russell said. “However, if we do, I know we can win. We just need to relax and be more composed in overtime.”
As for the playoff situation, the Tritons are walking on shaky ground. Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino are both lower-ranked teams that the Tritons defeated earlier in the season, including a 6-1 annihilation of the Broncos, in which Davey scored three goals. The game against Cal State Bakersfield, however, will test the Tritons. The Roadrunners are 11-3-2 overall and 7-1-2 in CCAA games, but the Tritons managed a 1-0 win when they faced them on Sept. 19 in Bakersfield, Calif.
According to Russell, the Tritons will need to play aggressively and with confidence to make it to the CCAA championship game.
“We’re definitely still in it, but we have to win the next three games,” Russell said. “We still have a chance.”
