LA JOLLA, Calif. — Brian Arens scored a dramatic game-winning goal in the 87th minute to deliver a 1-0 victory for UC San Diego men's soccer on Saturday night at Triton Soccer Stadium. The win over Cal State Fullerton, coupled with a Cal State Bakersfield loss elsewhere, qualified the Tritons to The Big West Championship for the first time.
 
Arens was one of eight seniors honored pregame on Senior Night. He was joined in the ceremony by Bryce Barnum, Cole Barrett, Adam Hillis, Dylan Huy, Matthew Lin, Nolan Premack and Evan Wellerstein.
 
The Tritons are the six seed in the conference championship and will face three seed Cal Poly in the first round. Fullerton went from having a shot at the regular season title entering the night to finishing as the four seed.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
A pedestrian first half saw just one shot on goal in the 40th minute. Fullerton's effort was saved comfortably by Triton goalkeeper Nic Thiele. The visitors had seven total shots before the break, with the Tritons only registering two.
 
The match exploded into a flurry of activity and chances for both sides immediately after halftime. In total, the two teams combined for 29 second-half shots, including 12 on target.
 
The Tritons had eight total shots on target, but it took nearly the entire match before they were able to break through. Both sides had opportunities throughout, with the Tritons stringing together several promising looks. Ten different players registered shots for the home side. Shots on goal came from six different Tritons as they looked for a way through the Fullerton defense.
 
While it was a senior who scored on Senior Night, the play started with a pair of freshmen. Woody Brown found Adam Dunbar on the right side, who slotted Arens in behind. Both Brown and Dunbar recorded assists on Arens' goal that just snuck into the net off the left post.
 

BRIAN ARENS FIRES US INTO THE BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP#VamosTritones pic.twitter.com/xuGG4aElVr

— UC San Diego Men's Soccer (@ucsdmsoc) November 2, 2025

 
Fullerton had two shots in the final four minutes as the visitors looked to rescue a result from the match. One was blocked at the last minute inside the six-yard box by a sliding Keenai Braun. The Tritons then cleared away the ensuing corner kick to secure the clean sheet and 1-0 victory.
 

Keenai keeps the clean sheet#VamosTritones pic.twitter.com/50tItGIAP8

— UC San Diego Men's Soccer (@ucsdmsoc) November 2, 2025

 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Arens scored his first goal since Sept. 3, 2023.
• Brown and Dunbar both registered their first career assists.
• Fullerton's 21 shots were the most by a Triton Big West opponent this season.
• The Tritons are in their second season of Division I postseason eligibility.

QUOTABLE
"It was an exciting match," head coach Jon Pascale said. "That is an excellent team that we played tonight. We knew they were going to throw a lot at us, and they did. I thought early on it took us a few minutes to get our footing in the game, and then as the game wore on, we slowly established ourselves. We came out with the goal and were able to keep them off the scoreboard which was exciting.
 
This team's resilience has been incredible all year. The harder things got, the more they stuck together. To see them get rewarded for it now at the end of the season is pretty cool."
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons travel to San Luis Obispo to play at Cal Poly on Wednesday, Nov. 5, in the first round of the 2025 Big West Championship. The winner of that match advances to the semifinals and will play at two-seed UC Irvine on Saturday, Nov. 8.
 
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 in NCAA Division I. The 24-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 39 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 NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.