LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The 10th-ranked UC San Diego women's soccer team embarks on its first road trip of the 2006 season this weekend with a match in Ellensburg, Wash., on Friday afternoon against Central Washington University at 4 p.m. From there, the Tritons will travel to Seattle University for a 3 p.m. showdown on Monday afternoon.
The Tritons enter the weekend with a 1-0-0 record after posting a narrow 2-1 victory in overtime against Grand Canyon University in the season opener at home on Thursday, August 24. UCSD fell behind early in the second half but responded with a goal on a penalty re-start off the foot of junior Caitlin Ryan just a few minutes later. Senior Kelly Cochran scored the golden goal just over four minutes into the first overtime to lift the Tritons to victory.
Central Washington enters the week with a 1-0-0 record after winning its season opener by a 2-0 score at Evergreen State University in Olympia, Wash., on August 24. The Wildcats also play Northwest University on Tuesday, August 28 prior to its match with UCSD.
The Tritons have a perfect 2-0-0 all-time record against CWU, having outscored the Wildcats by an enormous 17-0 margin. UCSD posted a 6-0 win in Ellensburg during the 2003 season before returning home in 2005 to deliver an 11-0 thrashing.
Seattle University enters the weekend with a 2-0-1 record, having played three California Collegiate Athletic Association teams at home to open the season. The Redhawks began the year with a 4-0 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay before posting a scoreless tie with Chico State. SU then defeated Sonoma State by a 4-0 margin on Monday, August 28 and will play against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday, September 1, before welcoming in UCSD on Labor Day.
Head coach Brian McManus' squad has a 3-0-0 all-time record against the Redhawks, including a 4-2 victory at home last season when SU was ranked No. 2 in the country. UCSD also posted wins at Seattle University in 1999 and 2003. The 1999 victory was by a 2-1 margin while the win in '03 was by a slim 1-0 score in double overtime.
Since moving to the Division II level the Tritons have began the season at least 4-0-0 in five of their six seasons. The lone exception was in 2000 when that team began the season with a 1-1-0 record after losing its second match of the year to Cal State San Benardino. However, the Tritons bounced back from the loss went on to win its first of two-straight NCAA D-II National Championships, posting a 21-2-0 record.
Following this weekend's contests, the Tritons will return home to open up CCAA play. UCSD will host Cal State San Bernardino on Friday, September 8 before welcoming in Cal Poly Pomona on Sunday, September 10. Those matches are slated for 4:30 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
