SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — UC San Diego's time in the 2025 Big West Men's Soccer Championship came to a close on a wet Wednesday night after a 2-0 first round loss at Cal Poly.
 
The Tritons were the six seed and playing in the championship for the first time. Cal Poly is the three seed.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Cal Poly had the majority of the opportunities in the first half. The hosts had 11 corner kicks and three total shots. Triton goalkeeper Nic Thiele made three high-level saves to see the game remain scoreless at the half.
 

NIC THIELE IS UNREAL

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— UC San Diego Men's Soccer (@ucsdmsoc) November 6, 2025

 
The second half was more of the same, with Cal Poly breaking through in the 54th minute. Thiele saved an initial shot, but the Mustangs' Finn Linas reacted to the rebound first to open the scoring.
 
The Tritons' comeback hopes took a hit in the 61st minute when Adam Hillis was shown his second yellow card of the night. His ejection forced the visitors to play with 10 for the rest of the match.
 
Cal Poly capitalized on the man advantage, maintaining possession and continuing to string together attacking chances to keep the Tritons on the back foot. That pressure paid off in the 72nd minute when a hard shot from the top of the box hit a Triton defender and trickled in to make the score 2-0.
 
Thiele continued to make highlight-worthy saves for the Tritons throughout the match. He finished with seven stops.
 
The Tritons ended the match with six shots, three on target. Their best chance of the second half came on a corner kick in the 56th minute. Nate Morgan found Ryan Namdar in the box, with Namdar's header saved in the center of the goal.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Thiele's seven saves were a career high.
• Cal Poly now leads the all-time series with UC San Diego 4-2-0. The home team has been victorious each time.
• The Tritons are in their second season of Division I postseason eligibility.
• The 2025 season ends with the Tritons going 2-9-7 (2-2-5 Big West).

QUOTABLE
"We are disappointed in the result," head coach Jon Pascale said. "Full credit to Cal Poly, who I felt deserved to win. We had a couple of mistakes that proved to be the difference."

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.