LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego men's soccer fell in the final minutes of their season opener on Thursday night when a late goal from Santa Clara, put the Broncos on top to win 1-0.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the first half, both teams held their defensive lines as only two shots were tallied by the Broncos and four by the Tritons. Two of those four were on goal forcing the Bronco goalie off his line. The second half was all Santa Clara as the Broncos took 10 shots with three on goal.
 
The game was physical from the start with 13 fouls in the first and 14 in the second. Two yellow cards were dealt to each team in the first half in the 35th and 41st minutes. A controversial red card was given to Triton Adam Hillis after the Broncos made a break away play for the goal. The straight red came in the 81st minute, forcing the Tritons to play down a man for the final nine.
 
Tragedy struck in the 88th minute when Santa Clara was able to go ahead with a late goal.
 
QUOTABLE
After a physical and even game, head coach Jon Pascale said, "it was a competitive match and we really seized control in multiple moments…it's always hard to play a man down, but we are taking away the positives and noting what we can improve."
 
Playing again in three days, Pascale added, "now it's all about rest, recovery, and fueling correctly. We'll get our legs back and start breaking down our next opponent."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Santa Clara has been a preseason foe for the gold and blue since 2020.
• Four Tritons made their official college debuts: Kai Oppenheim, Woody Brown, Ryan Namdar, and Keenai Braun.
• Cole Barrett, Nolan Premack, and Adam Hillis made their UC San Diego debuts tonight.
• The Tritons and Broncos are now even in the all-time series at 1-2-1.

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will be back under the lights on Sunday, Aug. 25 as they host No. 20 with kickoff set for 6 p.m. If you are unable to attend the match in person, the game will be live on ESPN+ with live stats available on ucsdtritons.com.