Capping a week-long stretch of victories, the UCSD men’s soccer team shut out Cal Poly Pomona 2-0 in a Sept. 24 game at UCSD, gathering the goals and masterfully utilizing its veteran and rookie talents despite being out-shot by the Broncos.
The No. 22 Tritons (5-1-1 overall, 2-1-1 California Collegiate Athletic Association) also had their offensive opportunities and wasted no time in taking the initiative. Senior Matt Davey propelled a rocket with his right foot into the back of the net from 12 yards out in the first half. The swift speed of the shot caught Cal Poly Pomona goalie Thomas Ryan off guard. Davey’s goal was set up on a pass from junior Dustin Tannenhaus that was flicked on by freshman Thomas Caplan.
The goal was Davey’s sixth of the season and enabled UCSD to take the 1-0 lead into halftime.
“In the first half we caught them,” senior goalkeeper Edward Ruhland said.
Less than 40 minutes were necessary in the second half for UCSD to get its insurance goal.
Senior Jon Krupansky started the play with a pass down the left side, where Davey drew the keeper and fed freshman Devon Cook for the empty net tally and the first goal of his career.
While the offense did their part, Ruhland was working hard, fending off 15 Bronco shots and forced into four saves.
“Our goalkeeper came up big,” head coach Derek Armstrong said.
Ruhland tallied his second shutout of the year and the team’s fourth. The Tritons have allowed only three goals all season, two of which came on penalty kicks.
Ryan, Ruhland’s Cal Poly Pomona counterpart, was similarly active between the pipes. He faced 16 UCSD shots, making eight saves while allowing two goals.
Cal Poly Pomona senior Andrew Pierce took the most shots on the night for the Broncos, letting go on four shots, none of which were on the mouth of the goal.
“Although they’ve improved considerably, they are not a very dangerous opponent,” Armstrong said.
Earlier in the week, the Tritons posted a 1-1 double-overtime tie with No. 4 Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson, Calif.
Krupansky tied the game in the second half, which thrust the game into overtime, where neither team was able to score a game-winning goal to end the match.
Before Krupansky’s heroics, in the game’s 18th minute, Cal State Dominguez Hills senior Francisco Corona was the beneficiary of a turnover, and was fouled inside the box after collecting the loose ball.
Capitalizing on his penalty kick opportunity, Corona tapped the ball to the far post as Ruhland guessed incorrectly, diving to his right for naught. Corona’s second goal of the year pushed the Toros to a 1-0 lead at just over the 18-minute mark.
After intermission, UCSD capitalized on an early scoring opportunity.
Krupansky sailed up the left sideline after taking a pass from Tannenhaus at the 46:30 mark, and lofted his shot into the upper inside corner of the far post, just over the outstretched arms of Cal State Dominguez Hills goalkeeper Kyle Polak, knotting the contest at 1-1.
The Toros and Tritons played evenly in the first frame, with neither side giving an inch. Both defenses dominated and kept the match knotted at one goal apiece throughout the first overtime period.
“We showed up with the intention to not be beat,” Armstrong said. “This game shows that UCSD can compete against most teams.”
The 65th minute saw the Tritons nearly lose the game, as the Toros had a golden opportunity to regain the lead.
Toro sophomores Sammy Rivas and Nick Rippeto teamed up for a two-on-one fast break.
After Rivas had his initial shot blocked 10 yards from the goal, he collected the rebound and found Rippeto, who quickly returned the pass to Rivas’ feet, who blasted it by Ruhland.
The effort was called back, however, as the Toros were called offside, negating a momentum-changing play.
The teams played two extra frames, with neither capitalizing on the other team’s stingy defense.
“Although it was a very hard game, everything went reasonably well,” Armstrong said.
The Toros out-shot the Tritons by a 17-10 margin and had a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.
UCSD was called for five less fouls in the match, while Cal State Dominguez Hills was whistled for 12 infractions on the day.
The tie gives UCSD a 1-0-1 record on the year against top-five ranked teams as the Tritons posted a 2-0 win on Sept. 1 over then No. 2 Seattle University.
The Tritons return to CCAA play next week, traveling to Sonoma State on Sept. 30 and San Francisco State on Oct. 2.
