LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego men's head soccer coach Jon Pascale announced the 2024 schedule on Tuesday afternoon. Facing several notable teams, the gold and blue will open the preseason hosting Santa Clara University and Duke in back-to-back weekends and face off with the Big West in nine matches.
 
The Tritons will host 10 games at their home field, Triton Soccer Stadium, in La Jolla.
 
"The fall is approaching quickly and the excitement from all the players and staff is building every day," said Pascale as he prepares for his 17th season at the helm. "We had a very productive spring and with the addition of our incoming players, we feel confident in our groups ability to win any game on our schedule."
 
Getting the season started with two exhibition matches, the Tritons will host crosstown foe San Diego State on Aug. 14 in a midweek match before hosting UNLV that same weekend on Aug. 17.
 
To open the 2024 season, UC San Diego will face a regular season top 25 opponent in Santa Clara University on Thursday, Aug. 22 in La Jolla. Just two days later, the gold and blue will take the pitch against Duke who ended the 2023 season as No. 20 in the nation. The Blue Devils only lost four games in 2023 with the fourth loss coming in the second round of the NCAA Championship.
 
Pascale commented, "we will test ourselves early in the season with some of the top teams in country. These challenges will prepare us for Big West play and the program's opportunity to compete for our first Big West title."
 
The preseason competition will continue to match the Thursday/Saturday game play with Utah Valley (Aug. 29) and Lipscomb (Sep. 1) rounding out August. Those matches are followed another home and away split with University of San Diego (Sep. 8) and San Jose State (Sep. 12).
 
Before traveling east, the Tritons will host Air Force on Sunday, Sep. 15 and then travel to the DMV area to take on Howard University (Sep. 21) in Washington D.C. before facing another military academy, UC San Diego will finish preseason play in Annapolis, Md. where they will take on Navy (Sep. 24).
 
UC San Diego will open its fourth season of Big West play at UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday, Oct. 2 before returning to La Jolla to take on CSUN on Saturday, Oct. 5 for the conference home opener. Returning to the road, the Tritons face Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 9 before returning home for two. Sacramento State will make the trip south on Oct. 12 and Cal Poly will do the same the following Wednesday, Oct. 16.
 
Rounding out the month of October and the regular season, the Tritons take on Cal State Bakersfield (Oct. 19) on the road before returning to Triton Soccer Stadium to host UC Riverside (Oct. 23). The same split happens again as UC San Diego heads north to face UC Davis (Oct. 26) before coming back home to finish the season against UC Irvine on Nov. 2.
 
The Tritons concluded the 2023 season with a 3-5-1 mark in conference play, including an upset 3-0 win over preseason favorite UC Santa Barbara. With their completion of the four-year reclassification period, UC San Diego is now fully eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play. The six-team Big West Championship begins Nov. 6 with the opening round, concluding with the championship match on Nov. 16. The winner of the Big West Championship will receive an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Admission to regular season home matches at Triton Soccer Stadium is free, though parking permits are required seven days per week on the UC San Diego campus. For the fourth consecutive season, all home matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
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 83 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.