POMONA, Calif. - The 10th-ranked University of California San Diego men's soccer team scored twice within the final 4:27 to stun No. 18 host Cal Poly Pomona, 2-1, Saturday at Kellogg Field and earn the program's first-ever California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championship outright.
UC San Diego improved to 14-2-2 overall and 9-2-1 in the CCAA. Cal Poly Pomona, the reigning West Region champion and preseason CCAA favorite, dropped to 12-4-2 overall and 8-3-1 in league play. The teams had begun the day tied for first.
The seconds were dwindling on the Tritons' pursuit of their first bit of conference hardware, down 1-0 heading into the final five minutes. To boot, Sonoma State was ahead 2-1 over Cal State LA at Santa Rosa Junior College, meaning UCSD would even miss out on a bye in the CCAA Tournament and have to host a first-round contest Tuesday night as the No. 3 seed.
Then senior winger Justice Duerksen was cut down toward the end line on the left side of the penalty area, and the match referee blew his whistle and pointed to the spot for a second time in the latter stages of the contest. The San Clemente product stepped up to take the try, but CPP goalkeeper Jason Trejos dove low to his left to make the save. The ball rebounded back, however, right in between Trejos and Duerksen, with the Triton first to it, hammering the follow-up into the back of the net for the equalizer at 85:33.
Just when everyone in the stands, regardless of who they were rooting for, was awaiting and expecting overtime, the visitors had other plans. A tie through regulation and a pair of 10-minute overtimes would have meant a shared championship between UCSD, CPP, and as it turned out, Sonoma State.
UCSD was having none of that, and wanted all the glory for itself after an incredible regular season that was deserving of a reward at the end.
The Tritons earned a left-sided corner kick approaching the final two minutes, and Duerksen sent it into the six-yard mixer. Trejos punched away, but only to the foot on the far side of Christian Cordell. The sophomore winger was true with his shot placement, for his fifth goal of the year, now tying him for the team lead. All of them have come off the bench. None, of course, were bigger than that.
The score was credited at 88:06. There was still time, though, for some final drama. CPP actually found the target in the little amount of time remaining, after a deflected Sergi Monso effort was tapped from close range into an empty net, but the linesman's flag, thankfully for the Tritons and Triton faithful, was up for offsides.
UCSD saw the final ticks out, and took home the spoils. For all their hard work as an always-capable and ever-dangerous squad that won a first West Region title a year ago and was the preseason CCAA favorite, the Broncos wound up taking that No. 3 seed, as Sonoma State won 3-2 in overtime over CSULA, and will now have to host a first-round tourney tilt this Tuesday night. Sonoma State grabbed the No. 2 seed.
The Tritons, on the other hand, will sit back and relax on Tuesday, and fly to Northern California late Wednesday. As the top seed, they will open a fourth successive CCAA Tournament in the late men's semifinal at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4, at Stanislaus State's Warrior Stadium. UCSD faces the winner between No. 4 Chico State and No. 5 Cal State San Bernardino, who square off in Chico Tuesday.
Cameron McElfresh came up with four saves in the Triton goal. Trejos stopped eight as UCSD out-shot CPP on the day, 19-12.
The Broncos' goal came out of virtually nothing at 74:47, as an inconsequential cross attempt from the left side, near the end line, was deemed by the official as having contacted the hand of a Triton defender. Reigning CCAA Player of the Week, Luis Najera, Jr., shot into the bottom left corner, giving the junior a single goal in each of his last six matches, and six scores on the year.
Had that been the decisive action, it would not have been fitting to the end-to-end, fast-paced matchup between fierce rivals, but the Tritons did not quit, and earned their just reward for ninth-year head coach Jon Pascale and his staff.
In the end, Cordell's strike will go down in the record book as the game-winner that brought with it the first conference title in UCSD's 17-year CCAA history.
Triton Notes: UCSD is 5-2-1 on the road in 2016 ... Justice Duerksen's assist on the winner was his fourth, with the three points matching the single-game best for his Triton career, from another come-from-behind 2-1 road victory, at SF State on Oct. 7, when he scored from the penalty spot and assisted on the decider over the last 11:03 of regulation ... The Tritons have remarkably turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win five times in 2016, twice at home over the first two games of the season, and now three times on the road ... UCSD has equaled its highest win total of the Jon Pascale era, having also achieved 14 in 2013.
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