PORTLAND – UC San Diego goalkeeper Dominic Peters registered a career-high seven saves, but Portland made a 42nd minute goal stand up as the host Pilots blanked the visiting Tritons, one-nil, in men's soccer action Monday night at Merlo Field.
 
With the victory, Portland levels its record at 2-2-0, while UC San Diego falls to 1-3-0.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Portland earned three corner kicks in the first 15 minutes of the match, but the UC San Diego defense prevented the Pilots from getting a shot attempt. In the fifth minute, a Pilots corner led to a scrum in the center of the box, but Jake Serpa calmly headed the ball out of harm's way.
 
The Tritons had their first shot opportunity in the 19th minute, but Nick Cirrito's attempt from the top of the box was stopped to keep the match scoreless.
 
Still scoreless in the 42', Portland's Jacob Babalai fired towards the top of the goal and found the back of the net, giving the Pilots a one-nil lead at the half.
 
Portland had seven first half shots to two for the Tritons, with Dominic Peters registering three saves in the opening period.
 
In the second half, the Tritons persevered but were unable to net the equalizer. Portland was issued its fifth yellow card of the match in the 90th minute, setting up a last-second corner kick for the Tritons with just two seconds remaining. UC San Diego sent the ball in, but was unable to register a shot before time expired.

QUOTABLE
"We played well against a quality opponent but unfortunately couldn't get the equalizer," said UC San Diego head coach Jon Pascale. "Give Portland a lot of credit; that's a really good team. In order to beat a team like that on the road you have to do a lot right, and we did, but just not quite enough to leave with a result."
  
TRITON TIDBITS

• Monday night's match was the first-ever between UC San Diego and Portland.
• Portland out-shot UC San Diego, 12-4. The Pilots had seven corner kicks to two for the Tritons.
• UC San Diego will face three West Coast Conference opponents this season. In addition to Monday's match at Portland, the Tritons will host Santa Clara (Sept. 11) and visit San Diego (Sept. 22).
• UC San Diego is now 1-2-0 in its white kits this season.

UP NEXT
The Tritons return home to Triton Soccer Stadium on Saturday night to host Santa Clara. The match is set to begin at 6 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Taylor Quellman and Sal Zizzo.
 
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.