LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego men's soccer program announced its 2021 competition schedule Tuesday. This year's slate marks the Tritons' first NCAA Division I schedule and the team's debut in the Big West Conference after the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tritons' schedule features 16 matches, including nine contests against Big West Conference opponents for the first time. UC San Diego will play six home matches at the
newly renovated Triton Soccer Stadium.
"The entire program is extremely excited about the upcoming fall schedule," said UC San Diego head coach
Jon Pascale, set to enter his 15th season as the program's head coach. "We played well and had a lot of momentum through the spring."
The Tritons kick off their 2021 campaign on Thursday, Aug. 26 in Utah against Dixie State. Three days later, UC San Diego is in Las Vegas to face UNLV.
Marymount (Calif.) comes to Triton Soccer Stadium on Sept. 3 for the Tritons' first home match of the regular season. UC San Diego then faces three teams from the West Coast Conference in its final four non-conference matches: at Portland (Sept. 6), home vs. Santa Clara (Sept. 11) and at San Diego (Sept. 22). The Tritons will also make a trip to the Bay Area to take on San José State on Sept. 16.
"We are looking forward to picking up where we left off and challenging ourselves against some of the top teams in the country," Pascale explained.
UC San Diego officially begins Big West play for the first time on Sept. 29, when the Tritons host defending conference champion UC Davis. The last time a conference season was contested, the Aggies won the 2019 regular season and tournament titles.
Cal State Fullerton heads to La Jolla for the first time as a Big West foe to start the month of October (Oct. 2). UC San Diego is back on the road in conference action the following week. The Tritons play at Cal Poly (Oct. 6) and at CSUN (Oct. 9) before returning home. After hosting UC Santa Barbara (Oct. 13), the Tritons visit Sacramento State (Oct. 16) and UC Irvine (Oct. 20) in a pair of Big West matches.
The home finale is scheduled for Oct. 23 when CSU Bakersfield plays at Triton Soccer Stadium as part of Homecoming Week. The Tritons conclude their 2021 campaign on Oct. 30 at UC Riverside.
UC San Diego began its transition to NCAA Division I last summer, but the Big West canceled what would have been the Tritons' inaugural season in Division I due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tritons did play five scrimmages against Big West opponents this past spring.
Attendance policies for the upcoming 2021-22 athletic season have not yet been determined and broadcast information will be announced at a later date.
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 III and II and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America accolades, while 38 have received 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.
