THE SCHEDULE
Match 15
at Stanislaus State (2-9-3, 0-8 CCAA)
Friday, Oct. 21 • 2 p.m.
Warrior Stadium • Turlock
Live Video • Live Stats
Match 16
at Cal State East Bay (6-7-1, 2-5-1 CCAA)
Sunday, Oct. 23 • 11:30 a.m.
Pioneer Stadium • Hayward
Live Video • Live Stats
NO. 12 UC SAN DIEGO BEGINS REGULAR-SEASON STRETCH RUN IN BAY AREA
The 12th-ranked University of California San Diego men's soccer team is back in the Bay Area this weekend for two more California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) contests. Second-place UC San Diego (11-1-2, 6-1-1 CCAA) is at last-place Stanislaus State (2-8-3, 0-8 CCAA) on Friday, Oct. 21, at 4:30 p.m., and then at 10th-place Cal State East Bay (6-7-1, 2-5-1 CCAA) on Sunday, Oct. 23, at 11:30 a.m. Both contests kick off doubleheaders with the No. 9 UCSD women. The Tritons are 2-1-1 away from home in 2016. They have won five straight, the longest active streak in the CCAA, and are 6-0-1 over their last seven, with three shutouts in a row.
TRITON SOCCER NOW ON UCSDTRITONS.TV!
For the very first time, all matches at Triton Soccer Stadium in 2016 feature a live video stream on UCSDtritons.tv. The platform, the product of a partnership between UC San Diego Athletics and local broadband services and technology giant ViaSat, is in its first full year. All broadcasts are in multi-camera high definition, and can be viewed from smartphones and tablets alongside desktop and laptop computers. UC San Diego alum and former baseball pitcher (2007-08) Tim Strombel (@Timmy2Sides) handles the play-by-play duties, and welcomes an array of guests. Viewing is subscription-based, though it is free from UCSD campus IP addresses. A package that gives viewers access to all streamed events (baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, volleyball, water polo and more) throughout the 2016-17 academic year is available for $34.99. A single-day option can be purchased for $5.99, meaning doubleheaders are two-for-one. Events are archived.
MORE LIVE COVERAGE
All games have live stats. Select road matches will also have video, including both this week, for free, though Stan State has a pay-per-view HD option as well on Friday for $6.95. Fans can access live coverage from the Schedule/Results page, or by clicking on the links above. Starting lineups, live in-game updates and other news and notes can be found by following Triton Soccer all season long on the UCSD Athletics Twitter handle (@UCSDtritons). Finally, check out the CCAA live scoreboard here to keep up on results around the league.
NATIONAL POLL
UC San Diego jumped up from No. 21 to a season-best No. 12 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll this Tuesday. The Tritons debuted at No. 21 on Sept. 20, before falling into the receiving votes category just outside of the top 25, for two weeks. The initial No. 21 appearance marked UCSD's first national ranking since a No. 9 listing in the 2014 preseason. The Tritons are a season-best second in the NSCAA's West Region poll.
REGIONAL POLL
Wednesday marked the unveiling of the first official NCAA regional polls, with UCSD second behind undefeated Simon Fraser. The top six teams in the final edition of those rankings, qualify for the NCAA Championship. The second release is set for next Wednesday, Oct. 26.
A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
UC San Diego posted a pair of home shutouts over traditional rivals last week, beginning with a 1-0 upset of then-12th-ranked Cal State LA in primetime on Friday night. Riley Harbour scored the lone goal in the 35th minute, assisted by Jeff Powers. The Tritons then demolished Cal State Dominguez Hills, 3-0 on Senior Day on Sunday. Christian Cordell provided a first-half stunner off a free kick, with Zachary Lagotta and Sam Palano clinching the big result in the second half. Uly de la Cal had his first career two-assist game, with Nick Palano and brother Sam each providing one. Cameron McElfresh totaled 10 saves, including a career-best seven against the Toros, in achieving two more clean sheets for the nation's No. 1 defense.
AROUND THE CCAA
With a second consecutive weekend sweep, UCSD on Sunday surged into sole possession of first place in the CCAA. Sonoma State's 3-0 home win over Humboldt State on Wednesday afternoon, however, moved the Seawolves on top, 20-19, though the Tritons have a game in hand. Chico State (17), Cal Poly Pomona (16), Cal State San Bernardino (16), Cal State LA (15) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (15) follow in a tightly-packed, exciting race for the six CCAA Tournament spots. Click here for the latest standings and here to follow the action via the live scoreboard.
RAPID ASCENSION
As UCSD's game at SF State kicked off at 3 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7, the Tritons sat in a two-way tie for eighth in the league table. Through four successive wins beginning that afternoon and going through Oct. 16, they have moved into a tie for sixth, a tie for fourth, a tie for first, and sole possession of the top spot in the CCAA standings. UCSD is in second after Sonoma State's 3-0 home win Wednesday over Humboldt State.
RETURN TO PREMIER DEFENSE
UCSD has allowed just four goals over 1325:31, for a goals-against average of 0.27, which tops all of the NCAA Division II. Three have come from the run of play, the other a free-kick strike by Azusa Pacific. The Tritons also lead in shutout percentage (tied-0.71) and save percentage (.918). The team's longest shutout stretch of the year has been 513:54 through four-plus clean sheets, with another recent one of 356:51 and three-plus. The current run is at 330:28 and three-plus. The Tritons boasted one of the top seven defenses nationally in Division II in terms of team GAA for three straight seasons between 2012-14, but fell back to the 48th spot a year ago (1.09). They 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). The CCAA standard is 0.415 (Cal State LA in 2014), with the program record at 0.42 (1990).
McELFRESH LEADS NATION
Cameron McElfresh leads the entire nation with his career-best goals-against average of 0.281, as well as his .917 save percentage.
LIGHTS-OUT DEFENSE
The nation's No. 1 defense has consisted the past four games, and last seven of eight, of senior captain Kuba Waligorski and true freshman Kelvin Uribe at center back, junior Nolan Mac at left back and redshirt sophomore Jeff Powers at right back. Junior Kyle Panganiban started the first six contests next to Waligorski prior to suffering an injury. Fifth-year senior Brett Sampiere played all 90 minutes of the season opener vs. Azusa Pacific (9/1) at right back, but has been hurt since. Junior newcomer Steven Ortiz played the full 90 minutes vs. Westmont (9/3) and Saint Martin's (9/10) at left back, with sophomore Quinn Allan also filling in as an injury replacement at left back (10/2). Of the 14 games so far, the defensive central midfield role has been occupied by sophomore Matt Merrill eight times, and true freshman Jonathan Stoop on six occasions.
McELFRESH BREAKS RECORD
On Sept. 25 against Chico State, Cameron McElfresh posted his fourth individual shutout of 2016 and 23rd of his five-year UCSD career, breaking former All-American teammate Josh Cohen's program record for the NCAA Division II era, since 2000. He had matched it with a clean sheet at Concordia on Sept. 17. McElfresh now has nine on the season and 28 as a Triton. The school standard is held by UCSD Athletics Hall of Famer Brian Siljander (1987-90), at 37. Michael Madden (1991-93) is second with 29.
FIRST CCAA WEEKLY AWARD FOR CAM
On Tuesday, Cameron McElfresh became UCSD's first CCAA Player of the Week for the 2016 season. It was his first such award, coming after two more individual shutouts in a pair of home victories, with a career-best seven saves in the latter contest on Senior Day on Oct. 16 against CSUDH.
#PALANOPOWER
The Sept. 1 season opener versus Azusa Pacific meant the first time in the four-year college careers of Nick Palano and Sam Palano that the identical twin brothers combined on a goal, and was also the first time they both scored in the same match. Sam continues to lead the team with 16 points from five goals and six assists, all career and team bests. His first collegiate brace came against rival Chico State on Sept. 25. The twins have accounted for three of UCSD's 11 game-winning tallies, and five decisive assists. Sam in fact had produced three straight goals for the team, with no other Triton having found the net over 594:39, leading up to Riley Harbour's overtime winner at 97:12 against Humboldt State on Oct. 2.
OFFENSIVE UPTICK
UC San Diego has 23 goals over 14 games in 2016, eclipsing its 18-game total of 15 from a year ago. The Tritons struck twice in both of their first two matches, having not produced multiple scores in back-to-back games even once in 2015. UCSD then hit for six on Sept. 10 against Saint Martin's, achieving its first 6-0 scoreline since another home defeat, that one over Cal State East Bay, in the 2010 finale (Oct. 31). Five of those goals came before the break, marking the first period of play for the Tritons with five goals, since the second frame of that East Bay matchup. UCSD scored twice in successive games a second time, Oct. 7 and Oct. 9.
HOME DOMINANCE UNDER PASCALE
UC San Diego completed its regular-season home schedule an unbeaten 9-0-1, after going 5-1-2 inside the friendly confines in 2015. Under head coach Jon Pascale over eight-plus years, the Tritons are 55-20-15 (.694) in La Jolla. They are 11-0-2 in their last 13 at Triton Soccer Stadium, since a 2-1 loss to Stanislaus State on Sept. 27, 2015. UCSD has thus not lost at home in over a full calendar year.
RALLY TRITONS
Three times in 2016, UCSD has surrendered a game's first score before rallying for a 2-1 victory via late goals. The Tritons achieved the feat twice at home to begin the year. Sam Palano volleyed in the 68th-minute equalizer and turned provider for twin brother Nick Palano with just 1:41 left in the second overtime to down Azusa Pacific on Sept. 1. Then it was Riley Harbour's hero turn on Sept. 3 against Westmont, as he slotted home his first of the year in the 79th minute, after Uly de la Cal had tied the match late in the first half. On Oct. 7 at SF State, Justice Duerksen converted a penalty kick at 78:57 to level the score in a contest with giant postseason implications. He then produced a perfect cross for de la Cal to flick home for the decider at 81:08.
OVERTIME FORTUNES OVERTURNED
The double-overtime triumph over Azusa Pacific on Sept. 1 marked UCSD's first overtime win since Malek Bashti's first collegiate goal took down rival Chico State in the 2013 CCAA semifinals in Turlock. The Tritons went 0-1-12 in overtime contests in 2014 and 2015, with 12 straight draws since, ironically, a 1-0 double-overtime loss to APU in La Jolla on Sept. 20, 2014. They added a second overtime victory, 1-0 at home against Humboldt State, on Oct. 2, and are 2-0-2 in extras.
PROGRAM FIRST FOR CAM
Cameron McElfresh on Oct. 4 became the first UCSD men's player named the NSCAA Division II National Player of the Week, following his back-to-back home shutouts over the previous weekend. The NSCAA expanded its weekly awards program to include the Division II ranks back in 2013.
TRITON NOTES
All three of fourth-year senior central midfielder Riley Harbour's goals this year have been game-winners at home, the last two in critical 1-0 CCAA triumphs, with an overtime strike vs. Humboldt State (Oct. 2) and a first-half tally vs. No. 12 Cal State LA (10/14) ... After missing 2015 through injury and entering the year with one career assist, redshirt junior striker Malek Bashti leads the CCAA with six helpers despite missing three games ... Sam Palano has six assists of his own to share the league high ... Prior to victories at SF State (2-1) on Oct. 7 and Cal State Monterey Bay (2-0) on Oct. 9, UCSD had last swept a CCAA road weekend in 2013, winning at Stanislaus State (2-0) on Oct. 4 and Cal State East Bay (2-0) on Oct. 6 ... Click here to watch Riley Harbour's overtime winner against Humboldt State on Oct. 2, and here for Christian Cordell's stunner against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Oct. 16 ... UC San Diego is 9-6-2 in CCAA openers after a 1-0 loss at CSUSM on Sept. 21, which snapped a string of two straight wins ... UCSD is 12-3-2 in season openers in its NCAA Division II era, since 2000, following the Sept. 1 defeat of Azusa Pacific, 2-1, with the Tritons an unbeaten 3-0-1 over their last four ... UCSD was picked fifth in the CCAA preseason coaches' poll, with reigning West Region champion CPP the favorite.
2016 SEASON OUTLOOK
UC San Diego had no seniors on its 2015 roster, but has eight in 2016. The Tritons welcome back the core of their defense in redshirt seniors Cameron McElfresh in goal and Brett Sampiere and Kuba Waligorski on the back line alongside junior Kyle Panganiban. Waligorski is a two-time All-CCAA Second Team pick, with McElfresh gaining All-CCAA honorable mentions for each of the past two years without missing a single minute between the posts. Sampiere, making a permanent return to his natural spot at right back, earned All-CCAA honorable mentions in 2013 and 2015. Nolan Mac and Jeff Powers were in the lineup at times and will vie for minutes.
The offensive production should be boosted by the return of Malek Bashti after missing 2015 through injury. Junior Uly de la Cal tied for the team high in points from two goals and three assists a year ago. Senior Riley Harbour, one of two Tritons he shared that designation with, is back in central midfield, as are Justice Duerksen, Zachary Lagotta and Nick Palano among wing options. Lagotta was All-CCAA honorable mention as a sophomore in 2015. Forward Sam Palano joins his identical twin brother as a fourth-year senior who will be counted on.
2015 REWIND
UC San Diego is coming off of three successive postseason appearances in the form of the CCAA Tournament, with NCAA Championship berths in 2013 and 2014. The Tritons went 6-6-6 in 2015, breaking a string of five straight years with an overall winning percentage of greater than .500 under head coach Jon Pascale. UCSD lost just one of its last seven regular-season contests, and was 5-3-4 in league play.
ROSTER NOTES
Among 29 players on the 2016 roster are 23 returners, just six newcomers, and eight seniors. There are four San Diego products, in redshirt senior right back Brett Sampiere (Solana Beach/Torrey Pines HS), junior winger Zachary Lagotta (Cathedral Catholic HS), sophomore forward Nathaniel Bloom (Encinitas/San Dieguito HS Academy) and redshirt freshman midfielder Daniel Boemer (San Diego/Scripps Ranch HS).
CCAA FORMAT UNCHANGED
For the third year in a row, the CCAA slate consists of a single round robin, with every team facing off once against one another for 12 matches total, and the top six sides (based on most points; three for a league win, one for a tie) in the final regular-season standings qualifying for the 2016 CCAA Tournament. Cal State San Marcos, a new addition in 2015, is ineligible again this time around. First-round matchups will take place on the campuses of the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds on Tuesday, Nov. 1. The semifinals and final will be hosted by Stanislaus State for the sixth time in the last eight years, at Warrior Stadium in Turlock, Nov. 4-6.
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 an 85-47-33 (.615) overall record in his ninth season in charge of the UC San Diego men's soccer program. He is 62-38-24 (.597) in arguably the toughest NCAA Division II conference in the nation, the CCAA. Pascale has guided the Tritons to six straight campaigns with an overall record of .500 or better, and six winning seasons out of his eight. They are coming off of three successive berths in the CCAA Tournament, with trips to the NCAA Championship in 2013 and 2014. A 1-0 home victory over Sonoma State on Sept. 29, 2013, gave him career win No. 50, while a 2-0 triumph at Stanislaus State 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 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 WARRIORS
Stanislaus State (2-9-3, 0-8 CCAA) snapped a four-game losing skid, all in league play, with a 4-3 double-overtime non-conference home victory over Bethesda on Monday night. The Warriors have allowed a league-worst 32 goals, as compared to UCSD's four over the exact same number of games, 14. Stan State is 2-5-1 at home. Dana Taylor is in his eighth season in charge.
SERIES HISTORY
UCSD leads the all-time series, 13-5-4. In the most recent meeting on Sept. 27, 2015, Stan State handed the Tritons a rare home loss, 2-1, scoring twice in a span of 1:51 late to overturn a 1-0 halftime deficit. In 2014, the Warriors knocked UCSD out of the CCAA Tournament in the first round, outlasting the Tritons in a penalty-kick tiebreaker, 5-4, after a scoreless deadlock through 110 minutes of play in La Jolla. The teams drew 1-1 in the 2014 regular-season matchup, also in La Jolla. In 2013, the Tritons achieved their first road win over the Warriors in Turlock, 2-0, in their fourth try there of the Jon Pascale era after a trio of one-goal defeats. The 2012 meeting in La Jolla saw Elan Gefen turn in the rebound from a Kian Malek shot that was saved, for the lone score of the night in the 55th minute.
ABOUT THE PIONEERS
Cal State East Bay (6-7-1, 2-5-1 CCAA) is coming off of a 4-1 home loss to Chico State last Sunday, Oct. 16. The Pioneers have allowed the second-most goals in the league, 25. They are 5-4 in Hayward, and host Cal State San Marcos on Friday at 4:30 p.m., before the Tritons' visit on Sunday. Mike Bielski is the first-year head coach.
SERIES HISTORY
UCSD has never lost to Cal State East Bay, posting 10 wins and a single draw in 11 prior meetings. The Tritons won 1-0 in La Jolla last Sept. 25, 2-0 in La Jolla on Oct. 12, 2014, and 2-0 in Hayward in 2013. The lone tie came in scoreless fashion in Hayward on Oct. 26, 2012. The Tritons have not allowed a goal to the Pioneers over their last eight-plus matchups, meaning 742:30 without a score going back to a 3-2 UCSD win in Hayward on Oct. 9, 2009. The Tritons are 8-0-1 against the Pioneers since East Bay joined the CCAA for the 2009 season, with prior meetings in Hayward as fellow Division III programs in 1992 (3-1) and 1994 (2-1), when the school was known as Cal State Hayward.
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 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!
SOCIAL MEDIA (#AllForOne)
UCSD Athletics on Facebook (UCSDtritons)
UCSD Athletics on Instagram (@UCSDtritons)
UCSD Athletics on Twitter (@UCSDtritons)
UCSD Athletics on YouTube (UCSDathletics)
UCSD Men's Soccer on Facebook
UCSD Men's Soccer on Instagram (@ucsdmenssoccer)
UP NEXT
The Tritons will be back on the road for the final week of the regular season, with two shorter trips to Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday, Oct. 27, and 21st-ranked reigning West Region champion Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday, Oct. 29.
#AllForOne
