SACRAMENTO, Calif. – UC San Diego men's soccer continued the opening week of conference play as they drew even at 0-0 with Sacramento State after a 90 minute back-and-forth battle on the afternoon of Sep. 30
The Tritons move to 2-6-3 overall and 1-0-1 in Big West play, while the Hornets move to 3-6-2 overall and 0-0-2 in the conference.
HOW IT HAPPENED
With 11 shots over the two periods, the Tritons had six opportunities to put the ball away against conference foe, Sacramento State. The Hornets outshot the Tritons with 15 total and nine on target. In between the pipes for the Tritons,
Mitchell Wilson kept the Tritons even with a career game-high of nine saves.
Looking to go-ahead early, the Tritons high press resulted in several good looks. In the 18th minute,
James Redington sent the ball in to Iñaki Iribarren for the header that was poked away at the last minute.
Earning eight corner kicks to Sac State's four, the Tritons saw multiple moments for a score that were just wide or spoiled by the Hornets' defense. As time winded down, the game grew more physical with four yellow cards dealt in the second half between the two teams.
Neither team was able to convert after 90 minutes with the score finishing 0-0.
After two games in conference play, the Hornets have tied each and the Tritons have a win and a draw. Currently, the Tritons are in fourth place in Big West standings, but the rest of the conference with play their second games at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.
QUOTABLE
Head coach
Jon Pascale commented, "I thought our team battled really hard today against a good opponents. Both teams created quality chances and both keepers made big saves. I think a tie is a very fair result, but I thought it was there for us to win. We will take the point, head back to San Diego and prepare for Fullerton."
TRITON TIDBITS
- Mitchell Wilson earns a career game-high nine saves and his second clean sheet of the season after playing all 90 minutes. The nine saves are a Big West team high in conference play and the second highest saves for a single game so far this season.
- The eight corner kicks and nine saves by the gold and blue are season highs for the team.
- Alessandro Allen, Andrew Valverde, and James Redington each took two shots over the two halves with Redington putting both his shots on goal.
- Evan Wellerstein, Asa Gibson, and Max Carvalho each took a shot that was on frame.
- Wellerstein, Jonah Kawamura, Adam Walker, and James Redington were the four Tritons to play the full 90.
- The all-time vs. record moves to 1-1-1 after today's draw.
UP NEXT
The Tritons will return to La Jolla to host a midweek matchup vs. Cal State Fullerton at Triton Soccer Stadium on Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. If you're unable to attend in-person, the match will be live on ESPN+ with live stats available on ucsdtritons.com.
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 has begun a new era 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 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
