UCSD Men Falter to Begin CCAA Title Defense

September 16, 2017
LA JOLLA, Calif. - The University of California San Diego men's soccer team saw its 18-match home unbeaten streak snapped by rival Chico State, 2-0, in the 2017 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) opener for both sides at Triton Soccer Stadium on Friday evening. Following its first loss of 2017, UC San Diego is now 2-1-2 overall and 0-1 in the CCAA. Chico State moves to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in league play. The Wildcats had started the season with two impressive wins in Washington state, before getting swept in a home pair last weekend, and thus now improve to 3-0 outside of Chico. The visitors nabbed a goal in either half. Dylan Wakefield's first of the season came at 30:06 as he nodded in the right-sided cross by Eruvey Arceta at the near post. Carter Johnson doubled the advantage in the 60th minute on a well-worked short corner kick organization, tapping into the open net from close range for his first. Assists went to Ryan Caro and Frankie Palmer after Fabian Roman's corner kick. Freshman Pedro Enciso (Vista/Rancho Buena Vista HS) made one save in the UCSD goal. Junior Damion Lewis was credited with just one stop of his own in the Chico State net to notch his first individual shutout. Indeed the teams combined for only four shots on target, three by the 'Cats. Junior midfielder Matt Merrill's effort generated Lewis' save in the 76th. The Tritons were outshot 8-1 over the first 45 minutes before finishing with 10 to Chico State's 12. That first-half attempt was by junior winger Christian Cordell, well wide at 26:51. UCSD's best opportunity to score was arguably a sequence that didn't even go down as a shot, just about a minute and a half after the second period began. A Chico State defender's hard clearance smacked right off freshman forward Jonathan Sabouri (Carlsbad/San Dieguito HS Academy), with Lewis having to go down to his left to collect the dangerous deflection and keep it a 1-0 scoreline. The Tritons remain at home and welcome in Stanislaus State this Sunday, Sept. 17, at 11:30 a.m. Parking and admission are free at Triton Soccer Stadium on North Campus in La Jolla. Triton Notes: UCSD is 9-7-2 in CCAA openers ... The Tritons had gone 15-0-3 at home since a 2-1 loss to Stanislaus State on Sept. 27, 2015, including 1-0-1 this year.
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