On Saturday, Sept. 28, at Triton Soccer Stadium, UC San Diego men’s soccer (0-6-2, 0-0-0 Big West) lost 3-0 to San Jose State (7-1-2, 0-0-0 WAC) in the Tritons’ eighth game of the season. A quick Spartan goal had the Tritons behind early, and while momentum later swung in their favor, a red card saw their chances at equalizing evaporate as the Spartans easily claimed victory.
SJSU demonstrated the weight of its unbeaten away record this season, dominating early in the game. The Spartans displayed their swiftness, scoring in the seventh minute after a deep run from the middle by junior midfielder Gilberto Rivera, who darted past defenders to curve the ball into the bottom right corner. Despite pressure from UCSD later in the half, including shots from redshirt sophomore defender Nate Morgan, the Tritons were unable to convert, resulting in a 1-0 Spartan lead going into halftime.
Despite the deficit, the Tritons started the second half with a blitz of shots, coming close to leveling the scoresheet after a well-struck shot from Morgan hit the post. However, things would take a turn for the worse after sophomore midfielder Woody Brown received a controversial red card for unsportsmanlike conduct directed at a Spartan. Down to 10 men, the already-difficult task of repelling the Spartan attack became even more arduous.
“Against a team like this that can keep the ball really well, it’s really hard to be down a man,” redshirt junior forward Brian Arens said to The UCSD Guardian in a postgame interview.
Though the Tritons maintained their composure, they felt the impact of the lost man, and control of the game fell back into SJSU’s hands. This allowed the passing build-up for a well-struck shot into the top right corner of the net from senior midfielder Angel Iniguez, doubling the Spartans’ lead in the 65th minute. Shortly thereafter, a skillful finish outside the 18-yard box from sophomore midfielder Neo Ruiz curved around the hands of UCSD graduate student goalkeeper Nolan Premack, making the score 3-0. The Tritons would see some good movement up the pitch, but no chances at goal materialized for the remainder of the game.
The 3-0 loss on Saturday marked another disappointing result for the Tritons, who are yet to achieve their first win of the season. The game put an end to a miserable September in which they failed to score a single goal all month — a program first. The loss also marks the Tritons’ 12th consecutive game without a win since October 2024, tying the longest winless streak in program history.
“The whole first half, we were having a lot of good spells,” Arens said. “Those little details are really what get us, and, you know, we can’t really be giving away red cards like that.”
Similarly, when asked about the season thus far, head coach Jon Pascale said, “Winning games is so much into details and getting your details right. And I think that’s what’s been letting us down a little bit.”
The Tritons will travel to Irvine to face the Anteaters on Wednesday, Oct. 1 for their first Big West game of the season, before returning to Triton Soccer Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 4, to face UC Davis.
