The UC San Diego men's soccer team began its 2005 season with a convincing 4-0 win over Humboldt State Friday evening in front of 391 fans at Triton Soccer Field. The Tritons won their season opener for the fourth-straight season and improve to 1-0-0 while the Lumberjacks fall to 1-1-0 on the year.

UCSD came out firing on goal in the first half, taking 13 shots in the period. It looked as if the Tritons would have nothing to show for their onslaught until junior Matt Horne (El Cajon, Calif.) deflected in a shot from six yards out with only seven seconds remaining on the first half clock. Senior Jon Krupansky (Newbury Park, Calif.) set up the tally with a cross into the center of the box where Horne slammed the ball into the back of the net.

The Tritons continued to put the pressure on the Jacks in the second half, taking nine more shots in the 45-minute stanza. UCSD went up 2-0 at the 64 minute mark when senior Grant Nishio (Carmichael, Calif.) slid home a rebounded shot from only four yards out. His rebound came off the foot of Krupansky who took a brilliant pass from fellow senior Matt Davey (Laguna Niguel, Calif.).

Davey would lead the Triton attack once again at the 74:26 mark as his pass across the middle of the box was deflected into the goal by the Humboldt State defense for an own goal. Nishio would conclude the UCSD scoring at the 78:28 mark, taking a Davey rebound and cleaning up for his second goal of the match.

While it was the Triton offense that applied most of the pressure, it was the UCSD defense that set it up, limiting the HSU offense to only 10 shots in the contest. Senior goalkeeper Edward Ruhland (Hilo, Hawaii) combined on the shutout, making three saves in his 80 minutes of work. Freshman Luis Salazar (Pico Rivera, Calif.) cleaned up the rest, making one save in his 10 minutes between the pipes.

Brendan Borzage took the loss for the Lumberjacks, allowing three goals while making five saves in his 78 minutes on the field. Lance Pimentel was the only HSU player to take more than one shot on the night, taking three, two of which were saved by Ruhland.

UCSD returns to action next Sunday afternoon, taking on the defending NCAA Division II National Champions, Seattle University, on September 4 at 2 p.m. in Seattle, Wash. The trip for the Tritons is a return one from last year where UCSD posted the only blemish on Seattle's record with a 1-1 tie at Triton Soccer Field on September 17.