THE SCHEDULE
Match 9
vs. No. 19 Sonoma State (6-1-1, 4-0 CCAA)
Friday, Sept. 30 • 7 p.m.
Triton Soccer Stadium • La Jolla
Live Video • Live Stats
Match 10
vs. Humboldt State (2-7, 1-3 CCAA)
Sunday, Oct. 2 • 2 p.m.
Triton Soccer Stadium • La Jolla
Live Video • Live Stats
EIGHTH-RANKED UC SAN DIEGO AWAITS TOP-20 SHOWDOWN WITH SEAWOLVES
The No. 8 University of California San Diego women's soccer team continues its California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) slate with two home games this week. UC San Diego (6-2, 2-0 CCAA) hosts 19th-ranked and first-place Sonoma State (6-1-1, 4-0 CCAA) on Friday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. The Tritons then welcome Humboldt State (2-7, 1-3 CCAA) on Sunday, Oct. 2, at 2 p.m. Both contests serve as the second halves of doubleheaders with the UCSD men at Triton Soccer Stadium, at 4:30 p.m. and 11:30 a.m., respectively. The Tritons are 3-1 at home in 2016. The end of Friday night's match will signal the exact midway point of their regular-season schedule.
TRITON SOCCER GAMEDAY
Once again in 2016, all regular-season home matches at Triton Soccer Stadium are free to attend. Parking permits are required, however, on weeknights on the UC San Diego campus. Parking permits can be purchased at machines situated at corners of either of the nearest parking lots, behind the spectator stand, as well as the Hopkins Parking Structure adjacent to RIMAC. Parking is free on Saturday and Sunday.
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) will primarily handle the play-by-play duties, with local personality Taylor Quellman (@TJQuellman) filling in, and 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 and/or audio. 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.
FREE TRITON GAMEDAY T-SHIRTS FRIDAY!
The first 1000 UC San Diego students arriving at the doubleheader with Sonoma State this Friday, Sept. 30, and able to show that they are following UCSD Athletics on at least one of our social media platforms (UCSDtritons on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter), will receive their bright yellow Triton gameday t-shirt featuring the new All For One slogan, for free. The promotion is sponsored by Toyota Dealers of San Diego.
FREE POSTERS!
Free posters of the 2016 UC San Diego fall sports will be available at Triton Soccer Stadium during this Friday and Sunday's doubleheaders. They can also be found at the kiosk inside the main RIMAC entrance.
MARQUEE MATCHUP UNDER FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Friday night's contest pits reigning and record nine-time CCAA Tournament champion UC San Diego (6-2, 2-0 CCAA) against defending CCAA regular-season victor and 19th-ranked current leader Sonoma State (6-1-1, 4-0 CCAA). The rivals split their two meetings a year ago, with the Tritons taking the more important of the two. Sonoma State won the regular-season matchup, 1-0 at home, before UCSD stunned the then-10th-ranked and top-seeded Seawolves, 3-0, in the semifinals of the CCAA tourney in Pomona on Nov. 6. SSU had entered that match an unbeaten 12-0-3 over its previous 15, and having allowed just five goals all year.
RANKINGS REPORT
UC San Diego moved back into the national top 10, from No. 11 to No. 8, in Tuesday's latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll. It remained No. 2 in the West Region, behind No. 7 Western Washington. With the first in-season release of the NSCAA poll on Sept. 6, UCSD entered at No. 7, having been left out of the listing in its preseason edition. It marked a first national rank for the Tritons since they were No. 23 on Sept. 17, 2013. UCSD's highest ranks this year have been No. 6 nationally (Sept. 13) and No. 1 in the West.
A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
UC San Diego swept through its first week of CCAA play, winning 4-0 at cross-county foe Cal State San Marcos last Wednesday and then 3-1 back in La Jolla against Chico State on Sunday. Four different Tritons got goals against the Cougars, in Katie O'Laughlin, Kiera Bocchino, Kristen Sampietro with the first of her senior campaign, and sophomore Kelsey Kimball with the first of her career as the late capper. Itzel Gonzalez registered the clean sheet in goal. O'Laughlin opened the scoring against the 'Cats in the 51st minute, Jordyn McNutt and Mary Reilly adding tallies. Reilly had a hand in all three, assisting on the first two.
REILLY REELS IN FIRST CCAA WEEKLY NOD
Sophomore starlet Mary Reilly was named Tuesday as the CCAA Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 19-25. It was the first such honor for the Chula Vista product's (Hilltop HS) career, coming after a stalwart performance against Chico State on Sept. 25 that saw her assist on UCSD's first two goals before scoring an exquisite 87th-minute clincher in the 3-1 victory.
O'LAUGHLIN BEST IN WEST
Katie O'Laughlin's eight goals lead the CCAA and the West Region, and are good enough for a seven-way tie for 10th nationally. She had her season-opening streak of three consecutive matches with at least one goal scored, snapped when the Tritons were blanked by Colorado Mines, 1-0, on Sept. 11. Jade Poon of Stanislaus State is the league's only player at five goals. O'Laughlin has the CCAA's lone hat trick, and one of just two in the West Region. Of her eight strikes, four have been of the game-winning variety, tied for tops in the country.
GOALS GALORE
UC San Diego's 23 goals as a team, an average of nearly three per game through eight matches, leads both the CCAA and the West Region, and ranks in a three-way tie for 11th nationally in the NCAA Division II. Katie O'Laughlin (8G, 2A), Mary Reilly (4G, 5A) and Jordyn McNutt (2G, 4A) have accounted for 14 of those goals, and 11 of 23 assists. Reilly (11) and O'Laughlin (10) were 1-2 in the CCAA in goals in 2015. It's currently O'Laughlin on top and Reilly tied for third.
STRONG SCHEDULE
When UCSD plays No. 19 Sonoma State Friday in its last game for the month of September, it will have faced six of nine opponents that were either nationally-ranked at the time of the match, or receiving votes just outside of the top 25. In addition, the Tritons won at two-time defending Pacific West Conference champion Point Loma, as well as at Cal State San Marcos, which was the last remaining unbeaten side in the CCAA when UCSD posted a 4-0 victory on Sept. 21.
MARTINEZ BACK IN MEXICO
Junior central midfielder Elisa Martinez (El Cajon/Francis Parker School), returned to the Mexican capital of Mexico City on Sept. 18, as she was formally invited on Sept. 12 to participate in her second training camp with the Mexico U-20 national team. She will be there through Oct. 1. Martinez was previously involved in her first Mexican camp at any age level, also in Mexico City, July 31-Aug. 7. The training periods serve as tryouts for the side which will represent Mexico at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, to be held in Papua New Guinea from Nov. 13-Dec. 3.
HAT TRICK HERO O'LAUGHLIN EARNS FIRST WEEKLY AWARD
On Sept. 6, Katie O'Laughlin was named the season's first CCAA Player of the Week, thanks to her hat trick against APU. The junior Carlsbad product needed a mere 27 seconds to score her first of 2016, before doubling the advantage at 14:05 through a corner-kick header, and then completing her hat trick late on a breakaway. O'Laughlin is a two-time CCAA Player of the Week.
FIRST-WEEK SUPERLATIVES
UCSD's 5-0 rout of Azusa Pacific marked the first time the Tritons tallied five goals in a single game since a 5-1 home win over Cal State East Bay on Oct. 12, 2014. It was their most lopsided defeat since a 6-1 margin at home in the 2012 opener on Sept. 1 against Central Washington. The result is also believed to be UCSD's heftiest victory over a ranked opponent in at least it's Division II history. With the Sept. 6 win at Point Loma, the Tritons are a perfect 3-0 against their crosstown rivals, with no goals conceded over 270 minutes.
TRITON NOTES
UC San Diego is 9-8 in CCAA openers after a 4-0 win at CSUSM on Sept. 21 ended a run of two straight defeats ... UCSD is 15-1-1 in season openers in its NCAA Division II era, since 2000, following the 5-0 rout of then-12th-ranked Azusa Pacific on Sept. 1 ... UCSD is favored to win the 2016 CCAA regular-season title, grabbing six of 13 first-place votes in the preseason poll.
2016 SEASON OUTLOOK
Brian McManus, in his 30th season in charge, has had to replace just one starter in goalkeeper Kelcie Brodsky. The rest of a strong, veteran lineup is back, led by four All-CCAA First Team selections and area products in senior center back Meghan Berry (Mt. Carmel HS), junior winger Jordyn McNutt (University City HS), and the prolific strike tandem of junior Katie O'Laughlin (Pacific Ridge School) and sophomore Mary Reilly (Hilltop HS).
Reilly, the CCAA Freshman of the Year, and O'Laughlin, were statistically the league's top scoring duo, finishing 1-2 in goals scored at 11 and 10, respectively. Reilly in fact paced the conference in most offensive categories, including points (28), game-winners (tied-four), shots (80) and shots on goal (52). McNutt provided a CCAA- and career-best 10 assists, while Berry was a revelation anchoring the back line after moving from central midfield during the 2015 preseason camp.
Senior Itzel Gonzalez has taken over in goal. She and winger Kiera Bocchino are the program's longest-standing members, both in their fifth year. Jamie Benedetto, like Berry, Bocchino, McNutt and Reilly, started all 22 matches in 2015. Kristen Sampietro (18), Brie Diaz (13), Aimee Ellis (13) and Taylor Ramos (10) all drew double-digit starts. Elisa Martinez earned her way into McManus' lineup in central midfield for each of the final nine games, and fellow junior Makenzie Brito the last seven at right back. Benedetto and Bocchino were All-CCAA Second Team picks, with Diaz garnering honorable mention in her first year on campus after a transfer from UC Riverside.
2015 REWIND
The Tritons went 15-6-1 overall and 7-4-1 in the CCAA a year ago. They surged down the stretch for the second year in succession, winning each of their last six regular-season contests after going 5-0-1 over that same period in 2014. Picked seventh in the 2015 preseason, UCSD was seeded fourth in the CCAA Tournament before rolling to a record ninth banner. UCSD has only missed that event once, in 2013, since joining the league for the 2000 season.
ROSTER NOTES
UCSD's 30-player 2016 roster has five seniors in fifth-year team members Kiera Bocchino and Itzel Gonzalez, alongside Jamie Benedetto, Meghan Berry and Kristen Sampietro ... Berry and Bocchino are second-year co-captains ... Twelve newcomers have joined the program, including 10 true freshmen ... Nine players are from San Diego, in Megumi Barber (San Diego/Mt. Carmel HS), Sydney Davey (La Jolla/La Jolla HS), Maxia Espino (Chula Vista/Hilltop HS), Elisa Martinez (El Cajon/Univ. of Sioux Falls/Francis Parker School), Jordyn McNutt (San Diego/University City HS), Katie O'Laughlin (Carlsbad/Pacific Ridge School), Taylor Ramos (San Diego/Coronado HS), Mary Reilly (Chula Vista/Hilltop HS) and Natalie Saddic (San Diego/UC Davis/Torrey Pines HS) ... Third-year Triton Meghan Berry, born in Dallas, Texas, attended San Diego Miramar College after Mt. Carmel High School, but lists Austin, Texas, as her hometown ... Kristin Jones, a two-time national champion and All-American as one of the greatest players to ever come through the storied UCSD program, is in her second year as associate head coach and her 17th straight as a Triton, having joined Brian McManus' staff immediately upon exhausting her eligibility.
CCAA FORMAT UNCHANGED
For the third year in a row, the CCAA slate consists of a single round robin, with all teams facing off once against each other 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 BRIAN McMANUS
Brian McManus is in his milestone 30th season in charge of the UC San Diego women's soccer program. With a career record of 471-87-51, he has achieved the most wins in NCAA Division II women's soccer history, and tied for fourth-most for all divisions. McManus' career winning percentage of .816 heading into 2016 ranked among the top 10 in college women's soccer annals, both overall (No. 10) and Division II only (No. 4). He was also third in win percentage among active Division II coaches. McManus has directed UCSD to seven national titles and a record nine CCAA banners, with the Tritons advancing to the national semifinals a remarkable 15 times in his 29 years. Under his guidance, UCSD has qualified for the NCAA Championship all 13 seasons during the Division III days, and all but three (2004, 2013-14) of 16 years since the move up to Division II. McManus' Tritons have missed the CCAA Tournament just once in 2013, having earned 13 straight berths after joining the conference.
ABOUT THE SEAWOLVES
Sonoma State (6-1-1, 4-0 CCAA) is a winner of six straight, out-scoring opponents 12-2 during the stretch. The Seawolves had managed zero goals in a scoreless draw and 1-0 loss, both at home, against then-third-ranked Western Washington and Central Washington, respectively, to begin the campaign. Last year, they finished atop the CCAA standings, seven points clear of the closest competition at an unbeaten 10-0-2. The Seawolves are a perfect 4-0 away from home, and were favored for second in the preseason poll, behind UCSD. Emiria Salzmann Dunn, the 2012 and 2015 CCAA Coach of the Year, is in her sixth year in charge at her alma mater.
SERIES HISTORY
UCSD leads the all-time series, 17-2-3. The teams split two meetings a year ago, with SSU winning 1-0 at home during the regular season, and the Tritons producing a 3-0 triumph in the CCAA Tournament semifinals in Pomona. The result in Rohnert Park marked just the second time that the Seawolves came out on top. The Tritons took a critical 1-0 victory on the road late in the 2014 season when Sonoma State was ranked 15th. Their first defeat to SSU was in the previous showdown in La Jolla, 3-2 on Sept. 29, 2013, the decisive goal coming in the 86th minute. The 2012 matchup in Rohnert Park ended in a goalless draw. Friday will be the fourth straight meeting in which Sonoma State was ranked in the top 20 nationally.
ABOUT THE LUMBERJACKS
Humboldt State (2-7, 1-3 CCAA), picked to place ninth in the CCAA preseason poll, has dropped three straight. The Lumberjacks first play at Cal State San Marcos on Friday afternoon at 12:30 p.m., prior to Sunday's match in La Jolla. Paul Karver is in his fourth season in charge of the Jacks, who are 1-6 outside of Arcata in 2016.
SERIES HISTORY
UCSD leads the all-time series, 12-1-2, with the Tritons having taken back-to-back 1-0 decisions up in Arcata, last year through a 21st-minute Kiera Bocchino goal. The previous matchup in La Jolla, in 2013, ended in a scoreless draw. The Tritons posted a comfortable 4-1 victory in Arcata in 2012 in a contest that did not count toward league play. HSU's lone success in the series was a 2-1 decision in Arcata back in 2010.
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)
UP NEXT
The Tritons head north to the Bay Area next week, playing at SF State on Friday, Oct. 7, at 12:30 p.m., and Cal State Monterey Bay on Sunday, Oct. 9, at 11:30 a.m.
#AllForOne
