The UC San Diego men’s soccer team (4–9–4, 3–5–0 Big West) played a pivotal match against the UC Riverside Highlanders (4–6–5, 2–2–4 Big West) at Triton Soccer Stadium on Wednesday evening. Despite a solid performance by the Tritons, the Highlanders scored the only goal of the night to secure their fourth consecutive win, dropping UCSD to No. 7 in the Big West standings.
The opening minutes of the match were dominated by the Highlanders, who took over the midfield and made it difficult for the Tritons to make an offensive play. However, freshman forward Kai Oppenheim had other plans; his close call in the seventh minute sparked UCSD’s momentum. After Oppenheim’s near-goal, a long-distance shot by junior midfielder James Redington was one of the Tritons’ best moments in the first-half.
Unfortunately for UCSD, an early 12th-minute header from the Highlanders put the Tritons one goal behind. A UC Riverside cross found an unguarded Highlander in the box who took advantage of the holes in the Tritons’ defense and beat the goalkeeper for a 1–0 lead.
In hopes of tying the match, UCSD made two early substitutions. A Triton throw-in to graduate student midfielder Cole Barrett led to a close play in the box. Senior forward Max Carvalho directed a header towards the goal, but sent it right over. However, this attacking momentum for the Tritons allowed them to dominate the final minutes of the half, including the final play: a corner kick was sent to the box by senior midfielder Carter Jacobus, but the goal post was well-defended by the Highlander keeper.
Entering the second-half down 1–0, sophomore defender Evan Wellerstein took on the left side of the field with a header attempt. A few more Triton shots were sent towards the Highlander keeper but none resulted in a goal.
The connection between Jacobus and senior midfielder Andrew McGee ignited the UCSD players to push harder for the tying goal. An attacking half-possession from the Tritons was one of the most heartbreaking plays of the night: a long-distance shot from Oppenheim hit the crossbar, preventing UCSD from attaining the equalizer by mere inches. Freshman midfielder Quinn Sellers also found himself close to goal, but the UC Riverside defense was on the ball to stifle the Triton attack.
Pressured by the clock, UCSD was forced to move forward quickly. The Tritons’ final attack of the night came on a free kick caused by a Highlander foul on the right side of the field. An assist from graduate student midfielder Andrew Valverde to Jacobus created the opportunity for a chipped header, which was missed due to an excellent save from the Highlander keeper. The best Triton chance of the second-half would end in a shot from McGee, which missed the right post by 3 inches. The final whistle blew, leaving the Tritons disappointed by the 1–0 defeat.
“We played well, but we just needed to finish our chances,” McGee said in a post-game interview with The UCSD Guardian. “Riverside had one shot at target so marking in the box and finishing strong is a strategy the team can focus on moving on to our next rival.”
With only two games remaining in the regular season, the senior midfielder shared his hopes. “Moving forward, we’re going to fight as hard as we can because this is our first year that we are eligible to make the playoffs; we really care and really want to make it. We’re going to play the hardest we’ve ever played,” McGee said.
Last Saturday’s loss against Cal State Bakersfield followed by Wednesday’s defeat against UC Riverside marks two losses in a row for the Tritons. “I don’t think that loss affected the team,” McGee said. “We all had our heads up after that game. I don’t think it affected our performance tonight with UCR. We also played well in that game last Saturday.”
UCSD traveled upstate for a showdown against UC Davis on Saturday, losing 2–0. The Tritons remain on the cusp of Big West postseason contention, likely needing a win in their final game of the season — a rivalry match against UC Irvine next Saturday, Nov. 2.
