HOUSTON — The first road trip of the 2026 men's soccer season sees UC San Diego visit Houston Christian this Thursday and Air Force on Sunday.
 
The Tritons are 1-0-0 on the young season after a 7-0 dismantling of Navy at home in last week's season opener.
 
Thursday's match will be on ESPN+, with Sunday's contest on MW+. Both platforms require a paid subscription.
 
Fans looking to attend Sunday's match will need to fill out Air Force's base access form.
 
DETAILS
Match 2
UC San Diego at Houston Christian
Thursday, Aug. 27 | 5:30 p.m. PDT
Sorrels Field | Houston, Texas
Series Record: Houston Christian leads 1-0-0
Watch | Live Stats
 
Match 3
UC San Diego at Air Force
Sunday, Aug. 30 | 12:00 p.m. PDT
Cadet Soccer Stadium | Colorado Springs, Colo.
Series Record: UC San Diego leads 2-0-0
Watch | Live Stats
 
ABOUT THE TRITONS
Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 1-0-0
Pac-12: 0-0-0
Home: 1-0-0
Away: 0-0-0
vs Ranked Opponents: 0-0-0
Streak: W1
 
TRITONS, STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

Stat	UCSD	Opp.
Goals	7	0
Goals/Game	7.00	0.00
Assists	5	0
Shots	19	7
Shots/Game	19.0	7.0
Shots on Goal	12	3
Corner Kicks	6	1
Saves	3	5
YC-RC	3-0	3-0
Fouls	13	12
PK Attempts (Goals)	0 (0)	0 (0)

 
ABOUT THE HOUSTON CHRISTIAN HUSKIES
Overall: 1-1-0
OVC: 0-0-0
Home: 1-1-0
Away: 0-0-0
vs Ranked Opponents: 0-0-0
Streak: W1
 
ABOUT THE AIR FORCE FALCONS
Overall: 0-0-2
Mountain West: 0-0-0
Home: 0-0-0
Away: 0-0-2
vs Ranked Opponents: 0-0-0
Streak: T2
 
LAST TIME VS HOUSTON CHRISTIAN (Sept. 4, 2025) | Box Score
Houston Christian was UC San Diego's home opener last season, with the visiting Huskies leaving La Jolla victorious 2-0. The scoring opened in the 49th minute before a penalty kick sealed the win in the 86th.
 
LAST TIME VS AIR FORCE (Sept. 15, 2024) | Box Score
The Tritons were victorious at home 3-0. UC San Diego took a 1-0 lead into halftime after a 43rd minute goal, with two late goals in the 80th and 87th minutes giving the Tritons the runaway victory.
 
HISTORIC SHOWING
UC San Diego's seven goals in the season opener versus Navy are the most by Triton men's soccer since Oct. 10, 1997, spanning the entirety of the team's Division I and Division II eras. The 7-0 scoreline marked the worst defeat in Navy's 106-year men's soccer history.
 
CONTINUITY
Seven of the team's starters last Thursday were on the team last season. Four played in at least 17 of 18 matches in 2025.

• Gavin Allegeart (14 appearances/0 starts)
• Keenai Braun (18/17)
• Woody Brown (17/7)
• Nate Morgan (18/17)
• Jack Nishimoto (0/0, redshirted)
• Nic Thiele (8/7)
• Sean Ueda (17/9)

STEPPING UP
A pair of true freshmen were also in the starting lineup against Navy for their collegiate debuts. Lalo Barbieri started at left back, with Gavin Carlson at center back.
 
Carlson was the only Triton to play the entire 90 minutes. He led the Triton defense to a clean sheet and also registered an assist on UC San Diego's third goal. On Tuesday, Carlson was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week.
 
NEW TEAM, SAME STORY
Sean McTague and Oren Stuppel both started last week in their first matches at UC San Diego. The two are graduate transfers from Cal Poly, where they spent the last four season together. That familiarity paid off immediately as McTague assisted Stuppel for the game's opening goal in the fifth minute.
 
Stuppel went on to record a brace just seven minutes into the match with Navy. His efforts earned him Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors on Tuesday.
 
2026 WEEKLY HONORS
M Oren Stuppel, UCU Athlete of the Week (Aug. 24)
D Gavin Carlson, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week (Aug. 25)
M Oren Stuppel, Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week (Aug. 25)
 
PRESEASON IN THE BOOKS
UC San Diego was undefeated in three preseason exhibition matches. The Tritons had two draws with preseason ranked opponents (0-0 vs No. 18 San Diego, 1-1 vs No. 21 Grand Canyon) sandwiched around a 4-1 victory over Arizona Western. All three contests were at home.
 
TRITON BOX OFFICE
2026 marks the first time that UC San Diego is selling tickets to home soccer matches. Single-match and season tickets are available in advance online.
 
Single-match tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for youth, seniors and UC San Diego faculty/staff. Current UC San Diego students with valid ID continue to receive free admission to all home athletic events.
 
UC SAN DIEGO AND THE PAC-12
UC San Diego Athletics is in its final season as members of The Big West. The department, including men's soccer, will move to the West Coast Conference in the summer of 2027.
 
Four Big West men's soccer programs, including UC San Diego, are competing in the Pac-12 this season as affiliate members. The Tritons join California Baptist, Cal Poly and UC Riverside and three full-time Pac-12 members (Gonzaga, Oregon State, San Diego State) to form the seven-team Pac-12.
 
The top four teams at the end of the regular season will qualify for the Pac-12 Championship. Semifinals will be November 7, followed by the final on November 13 or 14. The higher seed in each contest will host.
 
PAC-12 PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
1. Oregon State
2. California Baptist
3. San Diego State
4. Cal Poly
5. Gonzaga
6. UC Riverside
7. UC San Diego
 
PAC-12 PRESEASON IMPACT LIST
Each Pac-12 program named three players to the conference's Preseason Impact List. Each coach spotlighted scholar-athletes that are expected to be key contributors and difference-makers throughout the 2026 season. UC San Diego's selections are Adam Dunbar, Sean McTague and Sean Ueda.
 
Dunbar is a sophomore from Long Beach, California. The forward played in 12 matches, starting five, at an average of 49 minutes per match last season as a true freshman. Dunbar was the Tritons' leading goal-scorer in 2025, notching three goals and an assist. At the end of the season, he was named to the Big West All-Freshman Team by the conference's head coaches.
 
McTague is a graduate transfer from Mission Viejo, California, who spent the previous four years at Cal Poly. The forward appeared in all but three matches across 2022, 2023 and 2025 for the Mustangs, missing 2024 due to injury. McTague has seven goals and three assists to his name across his collegiate career. He was on the Big West All-Freshman Team in 2022 and the All-Big West Second Team in 2025.
 
Ueda is a sophomore from Santa Clara, California. The midfielder played in 17 of UC San Diego's 18 matches in 2025, starting nine at an average of 52 minutes per match as a true freshman. Ueda scored one goal last season, helping the Tritons to a draw at UC Riverside. This season he steps into a larger role in central midfield following the graduation of Adam Hillis.
 
ON THE PITCH AND IN THE CLASSROOM
Four Tritons were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team at the end of the 2025 season. Two—Keenai Braun and Nate Morgan—return in 2026.
 
MEET THE NEWCOMERS
Exactly half of the team's 28 scholar-athletes return from last year. The Tritons welcome in nine freshmen and five transfers.
 
Six of the nine freshmen are from California: Owen Helm, Richard Hoang, Cael McElderry, Matteo Saffer, Kelham Wolf and Liam Zubak. The rest are from Massachusetts (Tito Nichols), Minnesota (Gavin Carlson) and Brazil (Lalo Barbieri).
 
The Tritons have two junior college transfers in Luc Narido (De Anza College) and Vik Singh (Clovis College) to go along with three Division I transfers in Sean McTague (Cal Poly), Matias Mott (Wisconsin) and Oren Stuppel (Cal Poly).
 
FORMER TEAMMATES
Sean McTague and Oren Stuppel were teammates together at Cal Poly from 20222-25. They were joined by Liam Murdin on the 2024 team.
 
McTague graduated from JSerra Catholic High School in 2022, where he was teammates with Keenai Braun (Class of 2023). Gavin Allegaert is also a JSerra alum, graduating in 2025.
 
LEADING THE WAY
UC San Diego's three captains are all seniors and returning starters. Nic Thiele is the Tritons' goalkeeper, and he is joined by defenders Keenai Braun and Nate Morgan.
 
HEAD COACH JON PASCALE
Now in his 19th season at the helm of UC San Diego men's soccer, Jon Pascale has an all-time record of 153-109-57 (.569) with the Tritons at the start of 2026. Pascale is a three-time California Collegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year and led the Tritons to four Division II NCAA Championship berths from 2013 to 2019. His record in Division II was 130-61-40 (.649).
 
UC SAN DIEGO ON THE WORLDWIDE LEADER
Most UC San Diego home men's and women's basketball games, men's and women's soccer matches, men's and women's volleyball matches, baseball and softball games are broadcast live on ESPN+. For more information on where to watch UC San Diego soccer, visit UCSDTritons.com/live.
 
WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.
 
TRITON SOCCER TALK
As part of UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Athletics Department launched a weekly podcast, Tritoncast. New episodes of Tritoncast are available on the most popular podcasting apps and on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on X @Tritoncast.
 
GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO SOCCER
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through X, Facebook and Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdmsoc.

FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!

GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, click here.
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons return home to face Pacific next Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7:00 p.m. PDT on ESPN+. That match is also Youth Night, with free trident foam fingers given out to the first 100 kids in attendance.
 
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.