Under gloomy San Luis Obispo rainfall, No. 6 seed UC San Diego men’s soccer (2-9-7, 2-2-5 Big West) fell to No. 3 seed Cal Poly (9-5-5, 5-2-2 Big West) in its first-ever Big West Championship game at Mustang Memorial Field on Wednesday, Nov. 5. Despite several stellar saves from redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Nic Thiele — who recorded a career-high seven stops in the match — to hold off threatening Mustang attacks in the first half, Cal Poly eventually broke through the Triton defense with a goal in the 61st minute. A detrimental own goal in the 71st sealed the Tritons’ 2-0 loss.

Coming off a three-game win streak and a 4-0 home win over the Tritons earlier in the season, Cal Poly began its Big West Championship campaign with an aura of confidence evident on both ends of the pitch. The Mustangs had several dangerous opportunities at goal early in the match, including a curling effort from outside the box by senior forward Bakuena Ramakatsa in the 13th minute. Triton senior midfielder Adam Hillis got booked for a yellow card one minute later, which paved the way for Cal Poly to control the game. 

The Tritons relied heavily on Thiele, who was able to stop a critical goalscoring opportunity from Mustang redshirt junior forward Sean McTague in the 30th minute — his quick reflexes were just enough to get his fingertips on the ball. Thiele would come to the Tritons’ rescue two more times in the first half, moving past his 6-yard box to stop a finish from Mustang sophomore forward Colin Pearce in the 39th minute and diving to save a menacing free kick from Mustang redshirt freshman defender Joaquin Torres in the 42nd. Thiele’s spectacular saves saw the Tritons end the half level with Cal Poly, despite the Mustangs’ overwhelming effort. 

The Tritons, who usually thrive in their possessive game, struggled to keep the ball from Cal Poly in the second half. Things took a turn for the worse after a misplaced pass in the 53rd minute saw the Mustangs gain possession in a dangerous area, with sophomore forward Finn Linas running it down to place it in the path of Mustang junior forward Jack Civitts. Despite the golden chance to score, Thiele stopped the shot with another extraordinary save. However, the ball once again found Linas, who capitalized on the rebound to score the first goal of the night, putting the Mustangs up 1-0. 

Now behind by a goal, the Tritons shifted to a much more threatening forward press. This effort led to a corner kick in the 56th minute that allowed sophomore forward Ryan Namdar to head the ball from just outside the 6-yard box, forcing a save from Mustang senior goalkeeper Nicky McCune. 

Despite the Tritons gaining momentum, the game took a devastating turn in the 60th minute after Hillis was shown his second yellow card of the match after a messy tackle, leaving UCSD with 10 men. With a numerical disadvantage, the Tritons’ already-difficult task of turning the game around became even more challenging. The Mustangs had another close chance in the 64th minute after a through ball found Linas in a dangerous area, but Thiele was able to push it onto the post and stop the rebound for his fifth save of the match. 

In the 71st minute, an unintentional sabotage in the back line sealed the Tritons’ fate; redshirt sophomore defender Keenai Braun’s effort to clear a Mustang shot off the line ended up in the back of UCSD’s net. The own goal made it 2-0. 

Now two goals and one man ahead of the Tritons, the Mustangs assumed control over the remainder of the match. In a final flurry of action, the Mustangs found the back of the net once more after their 12th corner kick of the match. The goal was ruled out due to a handball from Pearce in the lead up, keeping the score at 2-0. Undeterred, the Mustangs cruised to the final whistle, officially ending the Tritons’ first taste of postseason soccer.

“We are disappointed in the result,” head coach Jon Pascale said in a postgame interview with UC San Diego Athletics. “Full credit to Cal Poly, who I felt deserved to win. We had a couple of mistakes that proved to be the difference.”

Though the early exit was certainly not the result the Tritons were hoping for, it’s a foot in the door for the Big West newcomer. Despite tallying 18 straight winless games dating back to last season, the Tritons were able to turn their year around in the final two weeks to make their first-ever Big West Championship. The 2025-26 season marked only the second season UCSD had been able to qualify for Division-I postseason eligibility, and to see the team facing off in the peak of college soccer is a sure sign of what’s to come. 

As Pascale told The UCSD Guardian in a postgame interview after the Tritons’ Oct. 15 tie with UC Santa Barbara, “You just keep going. You keep pushing.”