LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego women's soccer secured its first Division I victory in Triton Soccer Stadium with a dominant 3-1 home victory over CSUN on Sunday afternoon. It also marked the third consecutive match in which the Tritons earned points in Big West Conference play.
With the win, UC San Diego improves to 4-6-2 on the season (2-1-1 Big West) and earned a series sweep over the Matadors (2-11-0, 1-2-0 Big West) after a nonconference win earlier this season in Northridge.
HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN struck first with an early goal in the 12th minute, but it was all Tritons after that, scoring goals in the 20th, 21st and 34th minutes to take a 3-1 lead into halftime.
Trailing, 1-0, Caitlin McCarthy found Kameryn Hoban at the top of the box to lob in the equalizer in the 20th minute. McCarthy followed in the very next minute with a goal of her own, heading in a pass from Katelyn Meyer to give the Tritons the lead.
Lucy Tang came in off the bench to land a beautiful shot into the opposite corner of the net to give UC San Diego the 3-1 lead and the Tritons never looked back, limiting CSUN to just one shot on goal in the contest.
The Tritons held the slight 14-13 advantage in shots, including 10-8 at halftime and goalkeeper
Keara Fitzgerald notched five saves in the contest compared to one for the Matadors.
HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTABLE
TRITON TIDBITS
- UC San Diego recorded its highest score to date in Division I with three goals, and the most since 2019 when the Tritons defeated Humbolt State, 5-2 (Oct. 11, 2019).
- The victory marked the first at home in Triton Soccer Stadium for UC San Diego since joining Division I.
- After winning a nonconference matchup in Northridge, 2-1, earlier this season (Sept. 16) the Tritons earn a sweep of the series with CSUN.
- In her first start of the season, Kameryn Hoban notched her first goal of the year, the equalizer in the 20th minute.
UP NEXT
The Tritons will have next week off before playing host to UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. (PT) before traveling to face Cal Poly on Sunday, Oct. 17 at 12 p.m. (PT) in San Luis Obsipo, Calif. Live statistics will be available on UCSDTritons.com. Thursday's home match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.
