SAN RAMON, Calif. - The University of California San Diego men's soccer team is favored to place fifth in the 2016 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) race, according to a preseason poll conducted by league head coaches and released on Thursday, exactly one week out from the start of the new campaign.
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.
The CCAA favorite is fourth-ranked reigning West Region champion and 2015 national runner-up Cal Poly Pomona. The Broncos, also two-time defending CCAA Tournament champs, accumulated 137 points and eight out of the 13 available first-place votes. Cal State Dominguez Hills, which earned the 2015 CCAA regular-season banner ahead of CPP, is just three points shy in second (134 points), with the five remaining first-place nods.
Cal State LA, a third league foe nationally-ranked in the preseason, took up the No. 3 spot (126 points), followed by Sonoma State (100), UCSD (97) and Stanislaus State (87) to round out the conference's predicted six-team tournament field. Chico State (86) is barely outside in seventh.
UC San Diego will have to improve upon having managed only 15 goals over its 18 matches in 2015. On defense, the Tritons ranked just 48th in team goals-against average (1.09) after three straight years of being among the top seven nationally in Division II, including a then-CCAA-record 0.44 mark in 2012 to lead the country.
Pascale, a two-time CCAA Coach of the Year entering his ninth year in charge, had no seniors on his 2015 roster, but has eight in 2016. He welcomes back the core of his defense in redshirt seniors Cameron McElfresh in goal and Brett Sampiere (Solana Beach/Torrey Pines HS) 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, eyeing 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 the entirety of 2015 through injury. His likely strike partner, Uly de la Cal, tied for the team high in total 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 (San Diego/Cathedral Catholic HS) and Nick Palano among numerous wing options. Lagotta was All-CCAA honorable mention as a sophomore in 2015. Sam Palano joins his identical twin brother as a fourth-year senior who will be counted on.
Eleven CCAA teams launch their 2016 season next Thursday, Sept. 1, with the first bit of league activity taking place on Wednesday, Sept. 14. For the third year in a row, the CCAA slate will consist of a single round robin, with all teams facing off once against each other for 12 matches total, and the top six sides in the final regular-season standings qualifying for the 2016 CCAA Tournament. The conference 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.
UC San Diego begins the 2016 campaign with five straight home contests, having gone 5-1-2 inside the friendly confines of Triton Soccer Stadium a year ago. The Tritons will have 10 home dates in all. Azusa Pacific and Westmont are the first two visitors, on Sept. 1 at 4:30 and Saturday, Sept. 3 at 5 p.m., respectively.
Admission to regular-season matches in La Jolla is once again free. For the first time, all home games will feature a live video stream, in high definition via annual subscription service ($34.99) or single-day pay-per-view ($5.99), at UCSDtritons.tv.
2016 CCAA MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
1. #4 Cal Poly Pomona, 137 (8)
2. #13 Cal State Dominguez Hills, 134 (5)
3. #24 Cal State LA, 126
4. Sonoma State, 100
5. UC San Diego, 97
6. RV Stanislaus State, 87
7. Chico State, 86
8. Cal State Monterey Bay, 59
9. Cal State San Marcos, 51
10. SF State, 49
11. Cal State San Bernardino, 38
12. Cal State East Bay, 28
13. Humboldt State, 22
(first-place votes)
#AllForOne
