UCSD Men Set for Season's Toughest Road Trip

October 16, 2015

THE SCHEDULE
Match 14
at Humboldt State (1-8-1, 0-5-1 CCAA)
Friday, Oct. 16 • 3 p.m.
College Creek Field • Arcata
Live Video • Live Stats

Match 15
at Sonoma State (6-4-2, 2-3-1 CCAA)
Sunday, Oct. 18 • 11:30 a.m.
Seawolf Soccer Field • Rohnert Park
Live Video • Live Stats

TOUGH ROAD TRIP AHEAD FOR UCSD
The UC San Diego men's soccer team took its toughest road trip of the season Wednesday evening, and awaits two big California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) matches this weekend. The Tritons (5-4-4, 4-2-2 CCAA) are in Arcata against Humboldt State (1-8-1, 0-5-1 CCAA) on Friday, Oct. 16, at 3 p.m. They then head over to Rohnert Park to take on Sonoma State (6-4-2, 2-3-1 CCAA) on Sunday, Oct. 18, at 11:30 a.m. Both matches are part of doubleheaders with the Triton women, who take the field at 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively. UCSD is 1-3-2 away from home in 2015.

The Tritons are currently tied with Cal Poly Pomona for third among 13 teams in the CCAA table, at 14 points apiece. The top six sides in the final standings qualify for the CCAA Tournament.

MATCHDAY SPECS
Once again in 2015, all regular-season home matches at Triton Soccer Stadium are free to attend. Parking permits are required, however, on weeknights on the UCSD campus. Parking permits can be purchased at machines situated at corners of either of the nearest parking lots, behind the spectator stand, as well as the Hopkins Parking Structure behind RIMAC. Parking is free on weekends. All games, home and away, have live stats. Some matches also feature video, including this week's key road tilts. Both streams are free, though Sonoma State does offer a high-definition option for a pay-per-view fee of $6.95. All live links are available here.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
Brandon Monteiro Magpayo scored the first two goals of his college career to lead UCSD to a come-from-behind, 3-2 triumph at home in primetime last Friday night over Cal State Monterey Bay. The true freshman first tied the game at 1-1 in the 34th minute, turning in a short left-sided cross from teammate Nick Palano. UCSD trailed 2-1 at halftime and leveled again in the 53rd minute through Justice Duerksen's first goal as a Triton, from the penalty spot. Monteiro Magpayo then stepped up to take a free kick from just beyond the edge of the 18-yard box in the 76th, and buried his right-footed shot into the lower right corner for his first career winner. The Tritons played to a scoreless home draw with SF State on Sunday, with Cameron McElfresh registering his sixth individual shutout in net.

POSTSEASON PICTURE
UCSD has just four CCAA matches remaining, with three on the road. There are actually three weeks left in the CCAA regular season, but the Tritons have a bye in the final week, and will be the first side to complete their 12-game slate on Oct. 23 at Chico State. UCSD is tied for third with CPP at 14 points. Of this week's opponents, Humboldt State is in last place with a single point, and Sonoma State is tied for eighth with seven points, though the Seawolves have played two fewer games than the Tritons. The top six teams in the final ledger will make the 2015 CCAA Tournament. The two highest point-getters qualify automatically for Kellogg Field on the campus of Cal Poly Pomona, a first-time host of the event. Two first-round tilts will be played at campus sites on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

PREMIER DEFENSE
UCSD has boasted one of the top seven defenses nationally in the NCAA Division II in terms of team goals-against average in each of the last three seasons. The Tritons led the country in that category in 2012 with a then-CCAA-record mark of 0.44, before finishing fourth in 2013 (0.52) and seventh in 2014 (0.65). Their current average stands at 0.86, 25th in Division II. Uncharacteristically at California Baptist (9/12), UCSD allowed three goals in a single match for the first time since another 3-0 road defeat, at Cal State Dominguez Hills, on Oct. 14, 2012. The Tritons had gone 50 consecutive games without allowing that many opposition scores. They did not concede for over 458 minutes of home action in 2015, until the final 12 minutes of a 2-1 loss to Stanislaus State (9/27).

SILJANDER INTO HALL OF FAME
The third UCSD Athletics Hall of Fame class was officially inducted on campus last Sunday afternoon to conclude Homecoming weekend. Of the four inductees this year was Brian Siljander (1987-90), who was the starting goalkeeper on the first Triton men's soccer team to win a national championship back in 1988. He still holds UCSD records in career goals-against average (0.50), single-season GAA (0.31 in 1988) and career shutouts (37). Siljander is the program's second Hall of Famer, following Chris Romey (1989-91, 93) from a year ago.

TRITON NOTES
Cameron McElfresh leads the CCAA in shutouts (six) and minutes played (1250:00), and is fourth with a 0.86 goals-against average ... McElfresh ranks second nationally in minutes and 33rd in GAA ... UCSD scored more than once in a match for the first time in 2015 in its 3-2 home win over Cal State Monterey Bay (10/9), and has registered just 10 goals in 13 games ... The Tritons have converted two of four penalty-kick opportunities into goals ... UCSD has twice started three true freshmen this year, vs. Cal State East Bay (9/25) with Quinn AllanAndrew Flores and Brandon Monteiro Magpayo, and at Cal State Dominguez Hills (10/2) with Allan, Flores and Andy Sartor ... UCSD is 11-3-2 in season openers in the Division II era, and is unbeaten (2-0-1) over its last three, including the 1-1 draw at Saint Martin's (9/3) ... UCSD is 9-5-2 in CCAA openers after successive 1-0 triumphs at Cal State L.A. and vs. Cal Poly Pomona (9/18) ... UCSD was picked by league head coaches to place fourth in the 2015 CCAA preseason poll, with reigning West Region champion Cal State L.A. the favorite with eight of 13 first-place votes ... The Tritons are coming off of back-to-back trips to both the CCAA and NCAA tournaments ... UCSD has posted a winning record in five straight seasons and six out of seven under head coach Jon Pascale ... The Tritons went 10-4-6 overall and 5-2-4 in CCAA play in 2014, tying for third in the then-12-team league.

ROSTER NOTES
Among 28 players on the 2015 roster are 15 returners, 13 newcomers, and no seniors ... Nine players have made their Triton debuts this season, including five true freshmen and junior Justice Duerksen, a transfer from Division I Seattle University who has started 12 of 13 matches on the left wing ... UCSD returns the hub of its defense in redshirt juniors Cameron McElfresh in goal and Brett Sampiere (Solana Beach/Torrey Pines HS) and Kuba Waligorski on the back line ... Waligorski was a Daktronics All-West Region Second Team and All-CCAA Second Team pick in a first go-around in La Jolla for the native of Poland, while McElfresh garnered All-CCAA honorable mention in his first full season as the starting net-minder ... Sampiere earned All-CCAA honorable mention in 2013 before missing 12 of 20 games a year ago ... Besides Sampiere, other San Diego products are sophomore winger Zachary Lagotta (Cathedral Catholic HS) and true freshmen Nathaniel Bloom (Encinitas/San Dieguito HS Academy) and Daniel Boemer (Scripps Ranch HS) ... Bloom's first collegiate goal proved to be the decider in the 26th minute of UCSD's first win of 2015, vs. Concordia (9/8) in the home opener.

HEAD COACH JON PASCALE
Jon Pascale, a two-time CCAA Coach of the Year through back-to-back honors in 2012 and 2013, has posted a 73-44-29 (.599) overall record in his eighth season in charge of the UCSD men's soccer program. He is 55-36-21 (.585) in arguably the toughest NCAA Division II conference in the nation, the CCAA. Pascale has guided the Tritons to five straight winning campaigns, six of his seven, and two successive berths in both the CCAA Championship and NCAA Championship. 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, 2013, in Turlock, a come-from-behind, 2-1 overtime win 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. A 2-0 home decision over Cal State East Bay on Oct. 12, 2014, meant CCAA win No. 50 for Pascale, who coached his 100th CCAA tilt at Cal State Monterey Bay five days later.

ABOUT THE LUMBERJACKS
Humboldt State (1-8-1, 0-5-1 CCAA) currently takes up the CCAA cellar. A scoreless draw at SF State on Oct. 4 snapped a six-game losing skid during which the Jacks tallied just three goals. Humboldt State has only six goals on the year, and is 0-2 at home. Fred Jungemann is in his third season in charge of the Jacks after spending the previous six years at Barry University in Florida.

SERIES HISTORY
UCSD has never lost to Humboldt State, leading the all-time series, 4-0-5, including a dramatic 2-2 draw in Arcata a year ago. Kuba Waligorski and Uly de la Cal each notched equalizers over the final nine minutes of regulation in that affair, de la Cal's first collegiate goal coming with just 37 ticks left on the clock. Both scores were assisted by Riley Harbour and Brandon Bauman. The Tritons won 2-0 in La Jolla in 2013. The teams did not meet in 2012. Previously, the Tritons edged the Jacks at home in 2011, 3-2, overturning a 2-1 halftime deficit. The prior matchup in Arcata ended in a 1-1 tie in 2010.

ABOUT THE SEAWOLVES
Sonoma State (6-4-2, 2-3-1 CCAA) is tied for eighth with Chico State at seven points apiece, but both UCSD rivals have two fewer games played than the Tritons, with upcoming home matches against them. The Seawolves are 3-1 in Rohnert Park in 2015. A 2-0 non-conference win at Academy of Art last Friday afternoon ended a three-match winless streak. Sonoma State still hosts Cal State San Marcos this Friday, before welcoming UCSD in. Marcus Ziemer is in his 25th season at the helm of his alma mater.

SERIES HISTORY
Sonoma State leads the all-time series, 11-4-2. The Tritons had, however, taken three straight, including a 1-0 decision in La Jolla in 2013, ahead of a 1-1 deadlock in Rohnert Park last season. They won 2-0 at Sonoma State in 2012, marking just their second-ever victory there. UCSD was also the 2-1 victor in double overtime in La Jolla in 2011.

GEAR UP
For the latest in Triton athletic gear, make sure to visit ucsdtritonsgear.com. Run by UCSD Athletics' online partner, Advanced-Online, the site provides an on-demand option for Triton athletic apparel and merchandise. Fans have access to over 600 products that can be processed and shipped within 24 hours.

FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are in eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UCSD home athletic events, and much more!

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UP NEXT
UCSD already completes the CCAA slate next week, hosting newest league opponent and area foe Cal State San Marcos on Wednesday, Oct. 21, before heading back to Northern California to play at rival Chico State on Friday, Oct. 23. Both start times are set for 4:30 p.m.

#TritonsRising

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