LA JOLLA, Calif. – Kai Oppenheim notched a career game on Sunday, scoring a brace in UC San Diego's (1-4-2) 3-0 triumph over Air Force (0-5-1). Adam Hillis dialed in for a goal and an assist to help the Tritons to their first win of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a relatively quiet 42 minutes featuring a flying header from Max Carvalho, the Tritons found the back of the net first. A quick foul restart from midfield found Connor Place on the right wing, where he sliced a pass across the face of goal and into the path of Kai Oppenheim who finished the point-blank opportunity.
The Triton defense held strong against a persistent Falcon blitz that recorded two corners and three shots, all off target.
Air Force asserted itself in the second half, driving in three shots on goal, the last of which required a strong hand from goalkeeper Nolan Premack to keep out. The Tritons responded with eight shots of their own, with two threatening another goal.
The hosts second netting came off another free kick, this time on Michael Luechauer near the left corner flag. Luechauer sent it in the air, setting up Adam Hillis, who snuck through the fray and in front of the keeper's would-be clearing punch to head in.
A Falcon red card opened up the game even more for the Tritons and led to an unlikely brace from Oppenheim, who launched it from the halfway line and into the goal.
TRITON TIDBITS
QUOTABLE
After earning their first positive result of the season, head coach Jon Pascale commented, "it was great to see the team bring key pieces together throughout the game on offense and defense. Matt Lin came into the starting lineup on defense, Adam Hillis had a great goal, we had two goals from Kai Oppenheim, Michael Luechauer got his first real minutes and earned an assist, the contributions were across all 11 and then some."
"A really critical play was Nolan Premack keeping the score 1-0 after two huge saves. It could have changed the momentum of the game for us," he added.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego make its way to Washington D.C. for its penultimate preseason matchup against Howard (0-4) on Sept. 21. The game is available to watch live on NEC Front Row.
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.
