UC San Diego women’s soccer (5-6-8, 3-3-4 Big West) defeated UC Santa Barbara (12-4-4, 5-2-3 Big West) 1-0 in a suspenseful Senior Night match at Triton Soccer Stadium on Thursday, Oct. 30. The teams were deadlocked until junior midfielder Alexis Nguyen produced a work of art in the 81st minute, striking the ball just below the crossbar into the top left corner. This decisive goal gave the Tritons a win to close the season at seventh in the conference, only one spot outside of the top-six group that qualifies for the Big West Championship.
Despite just missing a Big West Championship berth, UCSD’s 2025 season marked a substantial improvement from the previous one. Last year, the Tritons only scrounged up 6 points and a .250 winning percentage on their way to finish the season at 10th in the Big West. Ahead of the 2025 season, the Big West Preseason Coaches’ Poll predicted that the Tritons would improve by three spots. UCSD lived up to the expectation, finishing seventh in the Big West. It doubled its winning percentage — .500 — and scored 13 points.
“I think we end with a good taste in our mouths,” head coach Kristin Jones said in a postgame interview with The UCSD Guardian. “I think it’ll be a great offseason for us.”
Despite being out of postseason contention, the Tritons played with a hunger to win for their seniors in the final performance of the year. On the other hand, UCSB — going into the match having only lost one conference game this season — needed one more win to secure the Big West regular season title.
The game kicked off with deep and well-practiced passing sequences from the Tritons. UCSD’s network of passes provided the groundwork for an organized flurry of shots from junior defender Jenna Grider and graduate student forward Natalie Abel.
UCSB found a good spell of possession later in the half, testing the UCSD defensive line after a well-placed through ball set up Gaucho junior forward Hayden Halscheid to take two shots in the 40th and 42nd minutes of play. Despite daring chances at both ends, the half ended 0-0.
Entering the second half, the Tritons brought a new wave of energy to build on their possessive game. Organized ball movement saw them sneak play closer and closer to the final third of the pitch, performing with an aggression unseen earlier in the match. The Tritons found cracks in the Gaucho defense, sending countless crosses into the box in search of a spark of brilliance.
This spark came in the 80th minute after Nguyen received the ball just past the halfway line. She dribbled it by several UCSB defenders to the edge of the 18-yard box before firing it beyond the outstretched arms of Gaucho junior goalkeeper Maddie Buckley, putting the Tritons on top with the first and only goal of the game.
“Finally being able to bury it in the back of the net was kind of a surreal feeling,” Nguyen said to The Guardian. “I was just so hyped.”
Offensive tides shifted toward the Gauchos after the Triton goal. UCSB pressed far into the UCSD half, including a dangerous effort from Gaucho senior midfielder Samantha Christie, whose shot inside the 6-yard box was stopped by redshirt freshman goalkeeper Charlotte Wilfert. Despite this heavy attacking pressure from UCSB, the Tritons held the Gauchos off for a 1-0 victory.
With the 2025 season behind them, the Tritons have the offseason to continue improving. The team has looked more composed defensively, earning itself several hard-fought results against top conference opponents such as UC Irvine and Hawai’i. Although falling short in the Big West, the Tritons have certainly stepped up from their last season.
“We have a great group coming back,” Jones said. “They’re gonna, you know, have that little extra motivation after tonight’s game and make sure that next season’s a little bit different for us.”
