BELLINGHAM, Wash. - UC San Diego allowed a goal early and another one late to get blanked by Western Washington University, 2-0, in non-conference men's soccer action Saturday at Harrington Field.

UCSD (0-1-1) had the first real scoring chance of the afternoon as junior winger Justice Duerksen's shot in the sixth minute glanced off the post. Duerksen is a San Clemente product and first-year Triton who was back in Washington after spending his first two college seasons at Seattle University.

Zachary Lagotta's (San Diego/Cathedral Catholic HS) attempt within 15 seconds later was saved by Viking goalkeeper Tyler Visten. It would be UCSD's only shot on frame for the day.

A two-minute offensive flurry for the hosts that featured five shots in all ultimately resulted in the game's first goal. Kurtis Pederson sent a ball over the top of the Triton defense, and Adam Talley shot from the left diagonal past a diving Cameron McElfresh and into the right side of the net to put the Vikings up 1-0 at 11:30.

UCSD had a couple legitimate opportunities to knot the score late. Lagotta found some space on the left diagonal, but a well-timed tackle by the Viking defender ended that threat. The Triton sophomore then produced a hard shot in the 89th minute that was blocked away by another WWU player.

With the Tritons pressing for an equalizer, WWU (1-0-1) clinched the victory through a counterattack with a little under a minute and a half left to go that in fact began from the blocked Lagotta attempt. Eleazar Galvan got the goal, as assists went to Talley and Jeremy Wentzel.

McElfresh produced three saves in the contest, with Visten needing to come up with just the one. UCSD held a 10-9 edge in shots taken, including 6-2 in the second half.

"Both teams were pretty good on the day," said UCSD head coach Jon Pascale, who joined his squad on Friday night after having to miss Thursday's opener at Saint Martin's as his wife gave birth to their second daughter early Wednesday. "They were fast up front and really dangerous on set pieces. They got in behind us early on the (first) goal, and had a couple chances off set pieces, but other than that they couldn't create a whole lot.

"We created enough to score, but we didn't capitalize on any of our chances. Their defenders had a great game. They were really good on the day. The second goal came with about a minute to go and we had a lot of guys pushed up trying to get the equalizer. The team is disappointed in both results this weekend, but our effort was certainly there, and I saw the potential in this game for us to be really good. As long as we keep working hard and moving forward, I think we'll be fine."

Freshman midfielder Brandon Monteiro Magpayo made his collegiate debut, coming on for the final 10 minutes. UCSD used the same starting 11 as it did at SMU.

Western Washington gained a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series, now with back-to-back wins, having taken a 1-0 decision in La Jolla last Sept. 6. The Tritons had come away with a 2-0 victory in the only previous meeting in Bellingham, in 2005.

UCSD flies home on Saturday evening and awaits its 2015 home opener this Tuesday night, Sept. 8, against Concordia Irvine. Kickoff at Triton Soccer Stadium is set for 7 p.m. Admission is free.

#TritonsRising

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