LA JOLLA, Calif. – Crosstown foe, University of San Diego felled the Tritons on Sunday night with a 2-1 result in La Jolla. All three goals were netted in the second half of the match.
The Tritons are now 0-4-1 and USD improves to 3-0-2.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Turning the pressure on early, USD tallied 10 shots in the first half forcing four saves by Tritons' keeper,
Nolan Premack. The gold and blue took three shots in the first with two on target. The visitors brought the physicality committing seven fouls in the first 45 minutes to the Tritons' three.
It was not until the 56th minute that the first goal of the night was netted by visiting USD. The visitors went ahead for 12 minutes as the Tritons found their equalizer in the 68th minute. On the rebound,
Andrew Valverde found the back of the net for his second goal of the season.
Remaining tied late into the game, both squads were on the hunt for the go-ahead goal. In the 79th minute, USD found it on a long shot from the top of the box.
The Tritons kept the pressure on into the final minutes but were unable to come away with the tie.
QUOTABLE
Commenting on the difficulty of the preseason schedule, head coach Jon Pascale said, "that's a team that's going to get some votes...they were a tough opponent that have put up a lot of goals and we were still able to limit their looks, while creating some of our own."
"We have another tough opponent on Thursday and we need to keep chipping away at a few areas to get better and keep building to put those critical pieces together," he added.
TRITON TIDBITS
- This is the fourth meeting for the two squads and USD moves to 3-1 in the series.
- Andrew Valverde scored his second goal of the season in tonight's match in the 68th minute.
- Michael Luechauer made his collegiate debut in the 85th minute.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will travel north to San Jose State for a Thursday night matchup at the Spartan's home field. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and will be live on ESPN+ with live stats 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 began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West 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 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.
