UCSD Men Host Pair of League Contests

October 9, 2014

 

THE SCHEDULE
Match 12 - Homecoming Weekend
vs. Cal State Stanislaus (4-4-2, 2-1-1 CCAA)
Friday, Oct. 10 • 7 p.m.
Triton Soccer Stadium • La Jolla
Live Stats

Match 13 - Homecoming Weekend
vs. Cal State East Bay (3-4-3, 0-2-2 CCAA)
Sunday, Oct. 12 • 2:30 p.m.
Triton Soccer Stadium • La Jolla
Live Stats

TRITON SOCCER STADIUM THE VENUE FOR TWO ON HOMECOMING WEEKEND
The UC San Diego men's soccer team comes up on the midway point already of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) season at home this weekend. The Tritons, winners of two straight, are 8-3 overall and 3-1 in league play, sitting in a two-way tie for third in the 12-team table. They first host Cal State Stanislaus on Friday, Oct. 10. That match is set for primetime with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Triton Soccer Stadium. UCSD then welcomes Cal State East Bay on Sunday, Oct. 12, at 2:30 p.m. That is a change from the original start time of 2 p.m. Both matches this week follow UCSD women's games at 4:30 p.m. and 12 p.m., respectively, and will have live stats. All regular-season matches at Triton Soccer Stadium are free to attend.

FREE POSTERS SUNDAY
Free posters featuring both the UCSD men's and women's soccer teams will be available throughout the doubleheader at Triton Soccer Stadium this Sunday, Oct. 12, against Cal State East Bay. The posters are courtesy of Pepsi and UCSD Dining Services. The women's match kicks off at 12 p.m., with the men right after at 2:30 p.m.

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
UCSD began the 2014 campaign exactly where it left off in 2013 in terms of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll. The association released its preseason listing back on Aug. 7. UCSD fell out of the top 25 when the first in-season edition was revealed on Sept. 9. The Tritons got as far up as No. 6 during an exceptional 2013 run, their highest position in the national poll of the Division II era. They are currently rated seventh in the NSCAA's West Region poll, up from eighth.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
Following back-to-back weekend splits, UCSD produced a clean sweep of its two matches last week, without surrendering a single goal. The Tritons got two scores in each half to cruise to a 4-0 home decision over Cal State San Bernardino on Friday, Oct. 3. Matthew McClureRiley Harbour and Sean Pleskow each provided their first collegiate goals ahead of the capper from Eric Young. Three of UCSD's tallies came on free-kick organizations, with three via headers. UCSD then travelled up to face archrival Chico State on Sunday, Oct. 5, and came away with a second 1-0 road triumph on the 'Cats' home field in as many years. For the second time in as many road CCAA games this season, it was senior playmaker Brandon Bauman notching the late decider in a 1-0 Triton victory. The Huntington Beach product had scored from the penalty spot in the 75th minute of the Sept. 26 win at Cal State L.A., and on Sunday struck in the 85th minute to down Chico State. Cameron McElfresh was called upon to make just a single save over 180 minutes of soccer in posting consecutive clean sheets in goal for the Tritons.

STRONG LEAGUE START
UCSD is off to a 3-1 league start for the second time in its CCAA history, the other time coming in just its first season in the conference in 2000. The Tritons also twice have slightly bettered that start, getting out of the gate at 3-0-1 over the first four games in both 2004 and 2006. They have won their first two CCAA road contests for the fourth time, having done so previously in 2004, 2006 and 2008.

PREMIER DEFENSE
UCSD has boasted one of the top five defenses nationally in the NCAA Division II in terms of team goals-against average in each of the last two seasons. The Tritons led the country in the category in 2012 with a CCAA-record mark of 0.44, and finished fourth in 2013 at a 0.52 clip. This year, through games played on Oct. 5, they are 15th (0.63). UCSD had not allowed more than a single goal over 34 straight games going back to a 3-0 loss at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Oct. 14, 2012, prior to the 2-0 home loss to CPP on Sept. 28. Still, the Tritons have posted 27 shutouts over their last 49. They had surrendered a goal in nine matches in a row going back to late in 2013, prior to this season's first of five shutouts so far, 4-0, at home over Cal State San Marcos on Sept. 14. Those five shutouts have come over the last seven matches (0.43 GAA).

SCORE TWO, GET THE WIN
UCSD is a perfect 6-0 in 2014 when scoring at least two goals. The Tritons are 2-3 when tallying less than two goals. Going back to late in the 2011 campaign, UCSD has won 21 straight contests when finding the back of the net two or more times. The team's last such loss was a 3-2 home decision to Cal State Dominguez Hills on Oct. 16, 2011. The Tritons have a pair of 4-0 triumphs and a 3-0 victory in 2014, all at home.

TRITON NOTES
After 11 wins by the final score of 1-0 over 2012 and 2013, UCSD has two so far in 2014 ... The Tritons' 4-0 victory over CSUSM was their most lopsided defeat and the most goals they have scored in a single game since a 5-0 triumph in the 2012 finale at Cal State Monterey Bay ... UCSD was picked to finish fifth by league head coaches in the CCAA preseason coaches' poll, garnering one of the 12 first-place votes ... Junior goalkeeper Cameron McElfresh has posted five shutouts this season, including two in a row, to give him eight clean sheets for his career ... The four returning Triton starters from a year ago are midfielder Brandon Bauman, forward Alessandro Canale, and defenders Matthew McClure and Brett Sampiere (Solana Beach/Torrey Pines HS) ... Canale and Sampiere earned All-CCAA honorable mention a year ago ... Among 27 players on the 2014 roster are 15 returners and 12 newcomers ... Joining Bauman, Canale and McClure in the senior class are A.J. BeloffJacob Valadez and Nick Roberts ... Besides Sampiere, the only other San Diego products are freshman winger Zachary Lagotta (Cathedral Catholic HS) and junior goalkeeper Dean Meltz (Torrey Pines HS).

HEAD COACH JON PASCALE
Jon Pascale, now a two-time CCAA Coach of the Year through back-to-back honors in 2012 and 2013, has posted a 66-39-19 (.609) overall record in his seventh season in charge of the UCSD men's soccer program. He is 49-33-15 (.582) in arguably the toughest NCAA Division II conference in the nation, the CCAA. A 1-0 home victory over Sonoma State on Sept. 29, 2013, gave him career win No. 50, while a 2-0 triumph at Cal State Stanislaus in the very next match on Oct. 4 marked his 100th contest at the Triton helm. Pascale directed his first postseason tilt on Nov. 8 of last year in Turlock, a come-from-behind, 2-1 overtime triumph over rival Chico State in a CCAA Championship semifinal. He made his NCAA Championship debut as a head coach on Nov. 16, 2013, in La Jolla.

ABOUT THE WARRIORS
Cal State Stanislaus enters the weekend at 4-4-2 overall and 2-1-1 in the CCAA. The Warriors are coming off of a 2-0 home win over Sonoma State last Sunday, which came on the heels of a 1-0 loss, also at home, to Humboldt State on Friday, Oct. 3. They are 2-1-1 outside of Turlock in 2014. Cal State Stanislaus edged Chico State, 3-2, in the 2012 CCAA Championship final in Carson for its first-ever league banner. Dana Taylor is in his sixth season in charge.

SERIES HISTORY
UCSD leads the all-time series, 13-4-2. Last year, the Tritons achieved their first road win over the Warriors in Turlock, 2-0, in their fourth try there of the Jon Pascale era after a trio of one-goal defeats. UCSD has taken two straight in the series, both in shutout fashion. The prior meeting in La Jolla in 2012 saw Elan Gefen turn in the rebound from a Kian Malek shot that was saved, for the lone score of the night in the 55th minute. Stanislaus won in 2011 in Turlock, 2-1, nabbing the decider with 119 seconds left in the second overtime. UCSD has been the victor in two successive meetings in La Jolla, with the Warriors scoreless over the past 259:34. The Tritons are an unbeaten 5-0-1 against the Warriors at home since the teams became league rivals in 2000, with Stanislaus managing just a single goal in those six games, in a 1-1 draw in 2007.

ABOUT THE PIONEERS
Cal State East Bay is 3-4-3 overall and still searching for a first CCAA win for 2014 at 0-2-2. The Pioneers first face a road date Friday afternoon at 10th-ranked and undefeated Cal Poly Pomona, prior to Sunday's match in La Jolla. They are 2-3 away from home in 2014. East Bay produced back-to-back draws at home last weekend, 2-2 against Sonoma State and 1-1 with Cal State Monterey Bay. The Pioneers have endured four straight overtime contests and six in all this year, going 1-2-3. Andy Cumbo is in his sixth season at the helm.

SERIES HISTORY
UCSD has never lost to Cal State East Bay, posting eight wins and a single draw in nine prior meetings. The Tritons won 2-0 in Hayward in 2013. The lone tie came in scoreless fashion in Hayward on Oct. 26, 2012. The Tritons have not allowed a goal to the Pioneers over their last six-plus match-ups, meaning 562:30 without a score going back to a 3-2 UCSD win in Hayward on Oct. 9, 2009. The Tritons are 6-0-1 against the Pioneers since East Bay joined the CCAA for the 2009 season, with prior meetings in Hayward as fellow Division III programs in 1992 (3-1) and 1994 (2-1), when the school was known as Cal State Hayward.

NEW YEAR, NEW FORMAT IN CCAA
The CCAA has made changes to its regular-season and tournament formats in men's and women's soccer for the 2014 season. The six-team, two-division alignment is no more, now with just one 12-team league table. Rather than a 16-game regular-season schedule with two matches against divisional opponents and one against out-of-division foes, each team faces one another once, for a total of 11 CCAA contests. The top six teams in the final standings advance to the CCAA Championship, up from four in prior years. The first- and second-place finishers get first-round byes, with those two games held at campus sites of the higher seeds. The venue for the 2014 CCAA Championship semifinals and final has been announced as Warrior Stadium on the campus of Cal State Stanislaus in Turlock for the second year in a row and the fifth time in the last six years.

GEAR HERE
UCSD Athletics has partnered with Advanced-Online to provide a web-based, on-demand option for UCSD apparel and merchandise. Fans have access to over 600 products that can be processed and shipped within 24 hours. Visit the site at UCSDTritonsGear.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA (#TritonsRising)
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UCSD Men's Soccer on Facebook

UP NEXT
Following this weekend, UCSD embarks on a season-long four-match road stretch. The Tritons will play at Cal State Monterey Bay on Oct. 17 and SF State on Oct. 19.

#TritonsRising

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