LA JOLLA, Calif. - The UC San Diego men's soccer team held on for a season-opening 1-0 victory over Cal State San Marcos on Friday night in front of a crowd of 610.
"The defensive effort was great," Triton head coach Jon Pascale said. "We knew they were very strong with the long throws and restarts. We're certainly happy with the win but we know we have a lot to improve on. Overall though, the defense held up well."
UCSD junior forward Mikel Samaniego tallied the match's only score, bouncing a shot to the right of CSUSM goalkeeper Kevin Ernst and into the bottom left corner of the net in the 32nd minute. Samaniego, a transfer from Seattle University, received a timely through ball from junior Shane Micheil streaking up the right side of the field en route to Samaniego converting his first points as a Triton. For Micheil, entering his third season for UCSD, the assist marked career point No. 7.
A few minutes before Samaniego's score, Triton senior midfielder Jonathan Sawyer lined a shot from 12 yards out off the post. UCSD outshot its opponent 6-4 in the first half.
The Cougars ramped up their offensive efforts in the second period as the Tritons tried to secure the season-opening victory. After junior defender Josh Jackson was awarded a yellow card roughly four minutes into the second half, CSUSM freshman midfielder Martin Suarez launched the corresponding free kick toward the UCSD net. Triton senior goalkeeper Peter Akman though was able to punch the ball out of harm's way.
At the 67:54 mark, Cougar junior forward Bradley Seidenglanz centered the ball into the box for senior defender Hyo Heinz to fire a one-timer but Akman corralled it into his chest for another stop.
Minutes later on a CSUSM corner kick, Sawyer managed to save a goal at his back-post restart position when he knocked away a header that was just a few yards away from crossing the goal line.
With about eight minutes to play and speedy senior forward Brandon Zuniga of CSUSM streaming up the right side, UCSD senior forward Chris Gutierrez made a fine sliding tackle, reversing the possession and helping the Tritons thwart another possible scoring chance.
A final opportunity for the Cougars came with 25 seconds remaining in regulation as CSUSM senior forward Miguel Jacobo placed a through ball into the center of the field for a streaking Tyler Spitznagel. Akman smartly sprinted out of position and slid to grab the ball.
The 1-0 victory gives UCSD a 2-1 lead in the all-time series with CSUSM, a tough non-conference opponent out of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The Cougars finished 2008 at 8-7-3 while the Tritons are looking to improve on last year's record of 10-6-2 with the new campaign underway.
On Friday, Akman finished with six saves while Sawyer paced UCSD in shots with three.
The Tritons continue their homestand with a 7 p.m. match against Hawaii Hilo on Monday. The Vulcans play their season opener at Cal State L.A. on Saturday before heading to La Jolla.
