LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego men's soccer team battled visiting Cal State Monterey Bay to a 0-0 draw after 110 minutes of hard-fought soccer in a California Collegiate Athletic Association matchup Sunday afternoon at Triton Soccer Field. UCSD had its opportunities but could not put one away, settling for its third consecutive tie.
After scoring six goals in their first three games to start the season, the Tritons (3-0-3, 0-0-2 CCAA) have now been held without a goal in three straight, a span of 330 minutes. UCSD's defense has been stellar at the same, playing nearly 365 minutes without allowing a score on the other end. The Tritons have not given up a goal since Notre Dame de Namur scored in the 66th minute on September 4.
“We're certainly happy about not giving up goals the last three games,” head coach
Jon Pascale said. “We haven't been giving up many chances either, and when we do, our guys have stepped up and made the right plays, so we're happy with the defensive effort. But we've felt as though we've been the better team the last three games, so we're disappointed to not come out on top.”
UCSD outshot Monterey Bay (1-3-1, 1-0-1 CCAA) 14-8 for the match, recording five shots on goal to just one for the Otters. The Tritons also won the corner kick battle, 5-1.
Most of the opportunities came early on. The Tritons had a great chance in the sixth minute when junior midfielder
Shane Micheil looped a cross over the box for
Brandon Yee. Yee came charging in on the play, but his header was wide left.
UCSD was on the attack again in the ninth minute when Yee dribbled the ball towards the right corner and fed junior midfielder
David Bakal just inside the box, but Otter goalkeeper Brenden Baca was there for the save at the near post.
Eric Alsop gave CSUMB an opportunity on the next possession, dribbling up field and sending a nice cross to forward Mario Khoury to his left, but Khoury's shot hit the crossbar. The Otters had another decent look in the 37th minute when Andrew Breault's free kick landed right at Khoury's feet, but his offering missed wide right.
The Tritons looked to capitalize on a hard tackle in the box by CSUMB's Randall Rigali in the 53rd minute, but
Jonathan Sawyer sailed the ensuing free kick over the net.
After surviving an Otter chance on an indirect free kick in the 65th minute, UCSD had its best chance of the second half but again came up dry. Bakal worked a pretty give-and-go with Micheil in the 71st minute, but Baca charged to make the stop, denying the Tritons once more.
UCSD would have three more looks in the final seven minutes of regulation, but could not break through to prevent a fourth straight overtime.
It was more of the same in the extra session as tired legs began to prevail. The Tritons managed only one shot in the final 20 minutes, a desperation attempt by
Daniel Pavitt with 26 seconds left.
The match featured four cautions, including red cards issued to both teams.
UCSD will hit the road next week, looking to remain undefeated on the season. The Tritons will square off with Cal State Stanislaus on Friday, before locking horns with Chico State on Sunday.
