SAN MARCOS, Calif. - The University of California San Diego surrendered a second-half goal and was unable to answer it, losing 1-0 to cross-county foe Cal State San Marcos in the California Collegiate Athletic Associaiton (CCAA) opener for both men's soccer squads Wednesday afternoon in The Cage.

UC San Diego dropped to 5-1-1 overall and 0-1 in the CCAA. The Tritons were one of three remaining unbeatens in the West Region. CSUSM, idle since Sept. 12 and fresher as a result, moved to an even 2-2 overall and 1-0 in league play.

The lone goal came at the 59:52 mark. Zach Olow's header took an unfortunate deflection off a Triton and fell right in Andrew Stalboerger's wheelhouse to power home his first of the year from close range, past a helpless Cameron McElfresh. The goal snapped a shutout string for UCSD of 513:54. The Tritons had posted four straight shutouts, still leading the CCAA with a 0.40 goals-against average.

McElfresh had three saves on the day. Justin Tesar made six stops in a shutout effort for the host Cougars.

The Tritons held an 11-8 shot advantage, and were the aggressor again after the shock goal, searching desperately for an equalizer, but just could not find the right coordinates. They have now gone without a goal in back-to-back contests, both away from home, after finding the opponent’s net in five games in a row, all in La Jolla.

CSUSM had a couple of early chances from distance at goal, the first from Olow safely into McElfresh's arms, and the latter wide to the left. A brief defensive miscue later in the first half put a Cougar offender into the penalty area, but McElfresh was again up to the task, knocking the ball out for a corner kick.

Having concluded this two-game road stretch, UCSD returns to home action this Sunday, Sept. 25, hosting rival Chico State. Kickoff at Triton Soccer Stadium is set for 11:30 a.m., with the women's game following at approximately 2 p.m. Admission and parking are free, with a live video stream, in high definition, on UCSDtritons.tv.

Triton Notes: UCSD still leads the all-time series, 4-2 ... The Tritons were playing their first-ever game at Cal State San Marcos ... Regulars Malek Bashti, Matt Merrill, Kyle Panganiban and Brett Sampiere were all unavailable, Sampiere for a sixth successive match ... True freshman Kelvin Uribe earned his second collegiate start at a center back spot in place of Panganiban ... CSUSM had entered the game without a goal against UCSD in 275:29, that number stretching to 335:20.

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