ARCATA, Calif. - In a battle between conference foes fighting tooth and nail for their postseason lives, the UC San Diego and Humboldt State University men’s soccer teams battled to a 2-2 at College Creek Field on Sunday.

UCSD moved to 9-4-4 overall and 4-2-4 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Humboldt State, which had lost five straight entering the day, is 8-6-2 overall and 4-5-1 in league play. The Tritons remain an undefeated 4-0-5 in nine all-time meetings with the Jacks.

UCSD would have clinched a second straight CCAA Championship berth with a victory. As it stands, it maintained its position in a fourth-place tie with Cal State San Bernardino, which had already played to a 1-1 tie earlier Sunday. The top six teams in the final table qualify for the conference tournament this year. In fourth and holding the head-to-head tiebreaker with CSUSB, the Tritons would play host to the Coyotes in first-round action next Sunday, Nov. 2, if the season ended today.

The home side scored the opener at 28:23 as Ryan Connor headed in Connor Wilkinson’s left-sided corner kick to the right of Triton goalie Cameron McElfresh.

UCSD came closest to equalizing in the first half, arguably at the very end of the period. A cross from the right was met around the near post by Sam Palano, but the sophomore striker’s shot was caught by HSU goalkeeper Javier Torres with less than a minute left to play.

The Tritons did eventually level the score to set off a frantic finish to regulation play. A free kick by UCSD captain Brandon Bauman was flicked by Riley Harbour before finding its way to fellow sophomore Kuba Waligorski, who lifted a left-footed shot from around 15 yards that hit the target for 1-1 at the 81:49 mark. It was his second of the season. Bauman and Harbour both were awarded assists.

At 87:39, the Jacks were back on top. Substitute Chuck Pitts gathered a headed through ball from Dominic Pacheco and dribbled forward before successfully lobbing his attempt over the oncoming McElfresh for his team-best seventh goal.

With the seconds ticking away, Bauman sent another free kick, this one deep from distance on the left side of the field, that was headed down at the back post by Harbour, for freshman striker Uly de la Cal to finish for 2-2 at 89:23. It was his first collegiate goal, with Harbour and Bauman each earning credit for their second helpers of the match. Bauman continues to pace the team and in fact holds a share of the CCAA lead in the category now with nine.

McElfresh finished with five saves on the afternoon. Torres had two. HSU doubled UCSD up on shots, 16-8, and had all three in the two 10-minute overtime segments.

The contentious affair featured 46 fouls and a total of eight yellow-card cautions, with UCSD playing the final 4:46 of the second extra session with a man advantage after a Jacks defender received a second yellow and thus a red-card ejection.

“This was a game that had a little bit of everything, a rowdy crowd, 46 fouls, and last-minute fireworks,” said UCSD head coach Jon Pascale. “I thought our guys did a great job of playing a very physical game in a very difficult environment.

“Our backs were against the wall most of the game, but we kept believing, kept plugging away, never stopped fighting, and came up with a couple of huge plays when we needed them. The (second equalizer) was such a melee, I’m not really sure what happened. I just know Brandon (Bauman) served it and Uly got it in the goal.

“I feel like we walked out of there knowing we were the better team. Humboldt is good and played with the desperation of a team knowing it had to win or perhaps be out of the running for the postseason. They were definitely dangerous on set pieces, but I think we created a lot more good chances in the run of play.”

Having finally completed a stretch of four straight road matches, UCSD returns home for its regular-season finale on Thursday, Oct. 30, against rival Cal State Dominguez Hills. Kickoff on Senior Night at Triton Soccer Stadium is slated for 4:30 p.m. A draw with the third-place Toros would clinch that CCAA Championship berth for UCSD. A win would move the Tritons into a tie with CSUDH, and give them the head-to-head tiebreaker, ensuring a home game in the first round as the No. 3 seed.

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