DENVER, Colo. – Opening road play for the 2023 season, the Tritons fell to No. 17 University of Denver on Friday night in a 4-0 loss.
The Tritons drop to 0-4-1 while the Pioneers move to 3-0-2.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Pioneers struck in the second minute of the game to go ahead 1-0 nothing with almost two full halves left to play. The Tritons held them to the lone goal in the first half with keeper
Mitchell Wilson making four saves on six shots.
In the later minutes of the first half, the Tritons earned a corner kick with
Andrew Valverde crossing the ball to
Max Carvalho who then headed it into
Iñaki Iribarren whose header went just wide.
Jonah Kawamura then sent a ball in from the top right of the 18-yard box, just missing the post on the left side.
Starting the second half on the attack,
Alan Kim came tearing down the right side to send in a shot, narrowly missing the shot to the right side.
Tragedy struck for the gold and blue in the 57th and 59th minute as DU put away two more goals on defensive miscues to pull away to 3-0. Kim's attack was the last shot from the Tritons as the Pioneers pulled away with their fourth goal in 66th minute.
Bringing some energy in the 75th minute,
Brian Arens tore down the center of the field with the ball taking the defense to the left then bringing them back center before shooting a dart that missed just left of the goal.
On a late corner, the Tritons made another attempt to get on the board when Valverde sent a cross to the left side of the goal with
Evan Wellerstein getting a head on it, but unable to send it in.
UC San Diego had a total of six shots with zero on goal as they were unable to get on the board tonight.
TRITON TIDBITS
- Brian Arens made his first collegiate start tonight in the Mile High City.
- Mitchell Wilson played 66 minutes with four saves on 15 shots.
- Nick Shor entered the goal in the 66th minute for his season debut and made a diving save and faced 9 shots.
- UC San Diego ended the game with zero shots on goal to the Pioneers' nine.
- The last time the Tritons gave up four goals was Oct. 3, 2008 vs. then No. 4 Sonoma State.
- This is the first shut out of the season for the gold and blue.
- DU leads the all-time series at 2-0 over UC San Diego.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego remains in Colorado as they head south to the US Air Force Academy for a Sunday afternoon matchup on Sep. 10. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. PST 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.
