LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego (2-5-2, 0-0-1) began its second season on even footing against UC Irvine (2-4-3, 0-0-1), finishing the match in a 0-0 draw at Triton Soccer Stadium in The Big West opener on Thursday night. The Tritons remained unbeaten against the Anteaters since joining the Big West.

HOW IT HAPPENED 
The Tritons began on the front foot, shooting two on target within three minutes. Lindsey Park led in the final third, recording two shots on goal in a full 45 minutes. 

UC Irvine came in hot defensively to begin the second half, keeping the ball within UC San Diego's half for the better part of the first 15 minutes. The time yielded three corners and two shots for the Anteaters. 

UC San Diego found its footing soon after, keeping it right in front of goal with a trio of corners and a promising shot by Allie Lo. The game deadlocked after this Triton surge, although the hosts out-shot the visitors 7-3. 

TRITON TIDBITS 

• The Tritons are now 12-2-6 all-time against UC Irvine, including 1-0-3 as Big West foes. 
• Natalie Abel collected her first conference minutes since 2022 after sitting the 2023 season out with an injury. 
• Bella Barretto, the reigning Big West Defensive Player of the Week, made her conference debut in goal for the Tritons on Thursday, posting her second straight clean sheet with four saves. 
• The weather was a brisk 67 degrees at kickoff on Thursday night. 
• UC San Diego wore its navy kits with Barretto in red.

QUOTABLE 
"For us, being a little bit disappointed with the tie shows the level that our team is. It would have been really good to be able to open the season with three points, but I think we need to really just focus in on how good the performance was," head coach Kristin Jones '04 said. "I think it's really important for us to stay committed to continuing to develop and get better in these games. Just the momentum of that will carry us through Big West, so we're really focused on getting a result on Sunday."

UP NEXT 
UC San Diego concludes its non-conference schedule against Pacific at on 2 p.m. Sunday for Youth Day. The first 100 kids in attendance will receive a pair of UC San Diego sunglasses.
 
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.