The 2025 season saw UC San Diego’s fall sports teams compete for regular-season successes and postseason appearances in just their second year of Division-I eligibility. As the quarter comes to a close, members of The UCSD Guardian’s Sports section recap an eventful season.
Men’s soccer — Ruben Perez, Contributing Writer
UC San Diego men’s soccer (2-9-7, 2-2-5 Big West) began the 2025 season with a road trip east, where the Tritons lost back-to-back games to Furman and No. 15 Duke. As the year went on, UCSD continued to drop tight games and tie a slew of conference matches, forging a historic 18-game winless streak that spanned 371 days. After more than a year without a single win, the season looked like one worth forgetting.
With just three games remaining, however, UCSD’s season began to look up. The Tritons earned their first win of the season with a 2-1 victory over Cal State Bakersfield on Oct. 22 and stunned Cal State Fullerton 1-0 on Nov. 1 to make the Big West Championship as the No. 6 seed. Despite the season’s woes, the team had qualified for the postseason.
Unfortunately, UCSD’s run ended on Nov. 5, when the Tritons fell 2-0 to the No. 3 seed Cal Poly in the first round. It was the team’s first Big West appearance in just its second year of Division-I postseason eligibility. UCSD ended the season ranked sixth in the conference, its highest ranking since joining the Big West in 2020. Freshman midfielder Adam Dunbar, who led the team with three goals, was named to the Big West All-Freshman team.
Women’s soccer — Alan Zhang, Sports Co-Editor
Despite improving upon an abysmal 3-12-4 record from last season, UC San Diego women’s soccer (5-6-8, 3-3-4 Big West) once again watched postseason play from the couch. A close 3-2 opening-day loss to Cal and a 3-2 victory against UNLV spelled promise, but as the calendar flipped to September, the Triton offense dried up.
The Tritons only scored five goals during Big West play — the second fewest in the conference. While a stretch in early October saw the Tritons muster two wins and two draws in four games, they were well out of postseason contention by the time they won 1-0 against UC Santa Barbara in their final game of the season on Nov. 3.
Despite its struggles, the future looks bright for UCSD, with a relatively young core of athletes who have shown talent early on. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Charlotte Wilfert finished the season with a save percentage of .842 — second among Big West goalkeepers. On the other side of the pitch, redshirt freshman forward Ava Tibor scored six goals, the most in a season for a Triton since transitioning to Division I.
Cross country — Abigail Kapur, Sports Co-Editor
The 2025 cross country season produced UC San Diego’s first Division-I conference champion in program history: redshirt senior Sylvana Northrop. She was crowned at the Big West Championship on Oct. 31 after racing a 20:42 in the women’s 6,000-meter. Northrop led the race from gun to tape — no surprise to UCSD cross country fans, who have watched her lead the Triton women in every race she has competed in over the past two years.
The women’s team placed third in the Big West, just 7 points short of UC Irvine at the conference championship. The men’s side came in sixth, led by redshirt senior Nathan Garderes, who finished the men’s 8,000-meter in 25:16 to place 18th.
Though they looked to carry that late-season momentum into the postseason, the UCSD women’s and men’s cross country teams finished 13th and 18th, respectively, out of a field of 40 teams, to conclude the 2025 season at the NCAA West Regionals on Nov. 14. Without a top-two finish that would have qualified them for the NCAA national championship, the Tritons will renew their push for conference and postseason success next August.
Women’s volleyball — Emily Gjevre, Staff Writer
UC San Diego women’s volleyball (6-24, 4-14 Big West) began the season with a 3-0 win over Eastern Washington at the UC San Diego Invitational on Aug. 29 — an auspicious start for a team that fell to New Mexico State the very next day, kicking off a 10-game losing streak.
The team was unable to turn the tide in the second half of the season, managing to pull off only six wins in 24 games. Interim head coach Kara Barkdoll Coy replaced Melanie Greene in November, but the Tritons were unable to fight their way up the Big West standings. The team was eliminated from championship contention in a 3-1 loss to UC Riverside on Nov. 14. UCSD finished Big West play in ninth.
Despite the dismal season, the Tritons put up some impressive performances. Sophomore outside hitter Molly McCluskey set two program records in the Division-I era — in single-match hitting percentage, with a .628 against Eastern Washington, and in single-match points, with 33 against Northwestern. She also leads the Big West in kills and is tied for first in points.
Men’s water polo — Sam Propst, Staff Writer
What began as a promising season for No. 13 UC San Diego men’s water polo (21-10, 2-3, Big West) ended in heartbreak.
While the Tritons struggled against big-name teams like No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 USC, they were still able to hold their own against some of the best in the Big West. On Sept. 21 at the MPSF Invitational, the Tritons came back from a 5-point deficit to beat UC Davis, the eventual Big West champions, 14-12.
Conference play was challenging for the Tritons, who lost their first three games before rebounding with wins over UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton to close the Big West regular season. Entering the Big West Championship as the No. 4 seed, UCSD punched its ticket to the semifinals after defeating No. 5-seeded UCI in the 11-8 on Nov. 21. As luck would have it, UCSD faced top-seeded Long Beach State the following day in another 11-8 game — only this time, the Tritons were the ones who fell, mirroring last year’s postseason exit.
Despite the semifinal loss, UCSD put together an impressive season, ranking fourth in the Big West and leading the conference in wins — 21 out of 31 games. The Tritons’ performance earned them 15th place in the final CWPA poll of the year.
