LA JOLLA, Calif. – With a background of Saturday night lights and the buzz of UC San Diego's student section, the UC San Diego men's soccer team blanked its first local opponent of the season, Cal State San Marcos, 1-0, on Saturday night in an exhibition contest at Triton Soccer Stadium.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons and Cougars were locked in a scoreless tie for the majority of the first half. A breakdown in Cal State San Marcos' defensive line left senior defender Nick Cirrito loosely marked at the top of the box. Cirrito tapped the ball into the net at 33' and UC San Diego entered halftime leading 1-0.
 
UC San Diego kept the Cougars under high pressure, starting attacks through its outside defenders senior Jake Serpa and sophomore Asa Gibson. The Tritons took a total of 7 corners, but San Marcos managed to hold the Tritons to just 2 shots in the second half. UC San Diego stayed on top, maintaining possession and winning the game 1-nil.
 
QUOTABLE
"I thought there were long stretches of the game where we really controlled it," said UC San Diego head coach Jon Pascale. "We are still learning and figuring things out but I was pretty pleased."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• The Tritons went 8-1-1 in their last 10 match ups with the Cougars. All 10 games were played when UC San Diego was a member of the NCAA Division II California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), where the Cougars currently reside.
• Senior forward Nick Cirrito scored his first goal of the 2021 season.  
• The Tritons conclude their exhibition season with 0 goals against over two matches, blanking their opposition by a combined 4-0 tally.

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will be leaving sunny San Diego to take on Dixie State in St. George, Utah. The game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. PT on Thursday night in the 2021 season opener for both sides.
 
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.