LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego men's soccer will make its Pac-12 debut this week, hosting Cal Poly on Wednesday before traveling to Gonzaga on Saturday.
 
Wednesday's Pac-12 opener from Triton Soccer Stadium features free soccer scarves for the first 200 fans in attendance. Tickets are available through Triton Box Office, with the match broadcast on ESPN+.
 
Saturday's road match at Gonzaga will be broadcast for free on YouTube. Both contests begin at 7:00 p.m. and are conference matches.
 
DETAILS
Match 9
UC San Diego vs Cal Poly
Wednesday, Sept. 30 | 7:00 p.m.
Triton Soccer Stadium | La Jolla, Calif.
Series Record: Cal Poly leads 4-2-0
Watch | Live Stats
 
Match 10
UC San Diego at Gonzaga
Saturday, Oct. 3 | 7:00 p.m.
Luger Field | Spokane, Wash.
Series Record: Gonzaga leads 1-0-1
Watch | Live Stats
 
ABOUT THE TRITONS
Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 5-3-0
Pac-12: 0-0-0
Home: 2-2-0
Away: 3-1-0
vs Ranked Opponents: 0-0-0
Streak: L2
 
TRITONS, STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

Stat	UCSD	Opp.
Goals	13	5
Goals/Game	1.63	0.63
Assists	11	6
Shots	105	78
Shots/Game	13.1	9.8
Shots on Goal	50	29
Corner Kicks	53	27
Saves	24	37
YC-RC	17-0	22-0
Fouls	88	97
PK Attempts (Goals)	0 (0)	0 (0)

 
ABOUT THE CAL POLY MUSTANGS
Overall: 4-2-3
Pac-12: 0-0-0
Home: 3-1-1
Away: 1-1-2
vs Ranked Opponents: 0-1-0
Streak: W1
 
ABOUT THE GONZAGA BULLDOGS
Overall: 3-3-2
Pac-12: 0-0-0
Home: 2-1-1
Away: 1-1-1
Neutral: 0-1-0
vs Ranked Opponents: 0-1-1
Streak: T1
 
LAST TIME VS CAL POLY (Nov. 5, 2025) | Box Score
Third-seeded Cal Poly eliminated sixth-seeded UC San Diego from last year's Big West Championship after a 2-0 win in the first round. The match was played in San Luis Obispo. Both goals were scored in the second half. Nic Thiele made a career-high seven saves in the match.
 
LAST TIME VS GONZAGA (Aug. 31, 2023) | Box Score
The two teams battled to a 1-1 draw in La Jolla, combining to take 29 shots with 10 on target. No current Tritons appeared in that match.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Tritons scored first against Cal State Fullerton but ultimately lost 2-1 at home last Wednesday. Gavin Allegaert had the goal for the Tritons off an assist from Cael McElderry.
 
FRIENDLY FACES
Three Tritons are Cal Poly transfers. Sean McTague and Oren Stuppel are grad transfers after playing for the Mustangs from 2022 to 2025. Liam Murdin was their teammate in 2024, with the trio winning a Big West regular season championship. McTague and Stuppel were also part of last season's Big West regular season co-championship team.
 
NEAR THE TOP
UC San Diego's .625 shutout percentage is good for sixth-best nationally. Fellow Pac-12 member California Baptist is first (.750).
 
STACKING DONUTS
The Tritons' have five clean sheets this year, one in every win. That ties their Division I program record for must shutouts in a season (2022).
 
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)
GK Nic Thiele, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 1)
D Gavin Carlson, Pac-12 Newcomer and Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 9)
D Keenai Braun, UCU Athlete of the Week (Sept. 14)
D Keenai Braun, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 15)
 
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 Nov. 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).
 
PRESEASON RESULTS
UC San Diego was undefeated in three preseason exhibition matches. The Tritons had two draws with 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.
 
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 continue Pac-12 play with a match at UC Riverside on Oct. 7 before hosting Oregon State on Oct. 10.
 
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.