MEN’S SOCCER – After a rough start to the season, the UCSD Men’s Soccer team continued its recent form by earning a draw and a win in two weekend games. With those performances, the Tritons are now unbeaten in six matches.
The Tritons held on for a 0-0 draw against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday, despite an onslaught in the attack by the Toros. On Sunday, Sophomore Adam Zernik’s first career goal gave the Tritons a 1-0 win over Cal State L.A.
Against Dominguez Hills, the Tritons to earned a draw despite being outshot 18-4. With Redshirt freshman Jesse Brennan’s career-high seven saves, the Tritons were able to withstand heavy pressure from the Toros to hang on for a point.
Senior Jared Kakura and freshman Alec Arsht — who have played every minute of the season so far — anchored the Triton backline in front of Brennan. The defenders helped the Tritons deal with the barrage of shots and eight corners from the Toros.
Dominguez Hills went to 7-2-2 overall and 5-2-2 in CCAA play. The Toros maintained their lead in the CCAA South Division standings despite the tie.
Against Cal State L.A., Zernik’s 63rd-minute free kick turned out to be the difference, as the Tritons hung on despite having to play the last 28 minutes with 10 men.
The Tritons experienced a turbulent few minutes of the match beginning in the 60th minute, when the Tritons were awarded a penalty kick but were unable to convert.
Junior forward Kasra Sarabakhsh then received his second yellow card in the 62nd minute, putting the Tritons down a man for the rest of the match.
But less than two minutes later, and three minutes after coming into the match, Zernik placed a free kick from the right corner just inside the far post to give the Tritons the lead.
“I give our guys a lot of credit,” head coach Jon Pascale said. “A missed penalty and a red card can be enough to do you in, but our guys didn’t flinch.”
The Golden Eagles were unable to capitalize on the man advantage, and the Tritons held on for the win. Brennan had five saves for the Tritons to earn the clean sheet.
“It wasn’t until after the goal — which was a well-deserved goal — that L.A. started to push numbers forward,” Pascale said. “We played a lot of guys those last 20 minutes and everybody did a great job.”
The Tritons moved to 4-4-4 after the weekend slate of games, including 4-3-3 in the CCAA. UCSD is now 4-0-2 in its last six matches after going winless in the first six games of the season. The Tritons remain stuck in fifth place in the CCAA South Division, but trail leaders Dominguez Hills by just five points.
The Golden Eagles continued their disappointing season, falling to 7-4 overall and 6-4 in CCAA play after being ranked No. 1 in the nation earlier in the year.
The Tritons will return home next weekend to face No. 14 Chico State at 7 p.m. on Friday, before taking on Cal State Stanislaus on Sunday.
WOMEN’S SOCCER – The UCSD Women’s Soccer team continued its hot streak over the weekend, winning both matches to extend its unbeaten streak to seven games.
Junior midfielder Lindsay Mills found the right time to score her first career goal, slotting home in the 85th minute on Friday to give the Tritons a 2-1 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Tritons then picked up a 1-0 win against No. 15 Cal State L.A. on Sunday to win their fourth straight game.
Against Dominguez Hills, the Tritons earned the win despite losing the lead with 15 minutes to play and being outshot 10-4. Junior forward Sarah McTigue scored the opening goal in the 54th minute, capitalizing off a pass inside the box from junior midfielder Shelby Wong. McTigue’s goal was her team-best fifth of the season.
The Toros found the equalizer in the 71st minute, when Jessica Murphy put in a good shot from the top of the box to beat junior keeper Kristin Armstrong. Despite giving up the goal, Armstrong had another solid game and finished with four saves.
UCSD was able to find the winner in the 85th minute, as Dominguez Hills keeper Alyssa Congdon failed to clear a cross from sophomore midfielder Alexa Enlow. The rebound fell at the feet of Mills, who neatly slotted home to put UCSD up 2-1.
Dominguez Hills fell to 7-3-1 overall and 5-3-1 in CCAA play. The Tritons overtook the Toros for second place in the CCAA South Division with the victory.
On Sunday, junior midfielder Annie Wethe scored her third goal of the season in the 32nd minute, and the Tritons held on for the rest of the match to keep their win streak alive.
Wethe placed a long shot from 20 yards out into the top corner of the net to beat the Golden Eagle’s keeper. Each of the goals Wethe has scored this season have ended up being the winning goal in the match.
Cal State L.A. had several good chances, including a shot from Gabbi Segall that careened of the woodwork in the 37th minute. However, the Tritons managed to keep the shutout, partly thanks to six saves from Armstrong.
The Golden Eagles outshot the Tritons by a 10-6 margin and held a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.
UCSD moved to 8-2-2 after the weekend games, including 6-2-2 in the CCAA.
The Tritons are now 5-0-2 in their last seven matches and sit just one point behind the Golden Eagles in the CCAA South Division standings with six matches to play in the regular season. The Tritons have conceded just four goals in their last seven games and have not lost since Sept. 17.
The Golden Eagles dropped to 8-3 overall and 7-3 in CCAA play. Cal State L.A. will play two teams with losing records in Humboldt State and Sonoma State next weekend, giving them opportunity to extend their lead in the conference standings.
The Tritons return to action by hosting Chico State at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The Tritons will then play No. 24 Cal State Stanislaus Oct. 17 at noon. The Warriors currently sit atop the North Division standings with a 7-2-1 record.
