HAYWARD, Calif. - The 12th-ranked University of California San Diego men's soccer team scored twice in the first period and went on to complete a third consecutive weekend sweep in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play, beating Cal State East Bay 3-0 Sunday afternoon at Pioneer Stadium.

UC San Diego, now a winner of seven straight and an unbeaten 8-0-1 over its last nine, improves to 13-1-2 overall and 8-1-1 in the CCAA. The Tritons maintained sole possession of first place in the league table, with one weekend left in the regular season. Cal State East Bay dropped to 6-8-2 overall and 2-6-2 in league play.

Sunday's result clinched a fourth successive CCAA Tournament berth for the Tritons. With all other results, they are assured of no worse than the No. 3 seed in the six-team event, meaning either a first-round bye, or a home date on Nov. 1.

All three of UCSD's goals on the day, came from set pieces.

"It was a great performance today by the entire group," remarked UC San Diego head coach Jon Pascale. "We got off to a good start and never looked back. Our defending was especially spot on, only allowing a couple of half chances."

The Tritons needed just over three minutes to get their opener. They earned a free kick around the corner flag on the deep left side. Justice Duerksen, who drew the foul, took it and found fellow senior midfielder Riley Harbour, who flicked the ball to Malek Bashti in the middle. The redshirt junior striker volleyed to the left side of the target for his second of 2016, both now coming on the road. Duerksen and Harbour were credited with their third and first assists of the season, respectively.

UCSD doubled the advantage at 34:20. Sophomore striker Nathaniel Bloom (Encinitas/San Dieguito HS Academy) was fouled just beyond the edge of the penalty area to the outside of the left post. Reserve senior midfielder Nick Palano stepped up to take the free kick, and curled his right-footed effort over the wall and into the upper left side, beyond the reach of a diving Carlos Moreno. It was Palano's second on the year and fifth of his career, the first from a direct free kick.

The visitors almost made it 3-0 right before the break. Bloom received a nice pass on the right diagonal and took a hard shot, but Moreno made a fine save out for a corner kick.

The Tritons did ultimately achieve a 3-0 scoreline, however, at 70:24. Harbour directed junior forward Uly de la Cal's free kick from pretty far away along the left flank, with his foot over Moreno's head and into the right side, for the fourth goal of his final campaign. It was Harbour's first road goal of 2016 and first that wasn’t a game-winner, and for de la Cal, a fifth assist.

Fifth-year senior Cameron McElfresh was not called upon to make a single save in the Triton net, as the Tritons indeed only surrendered one shot the entire match, which wasn't directed on frame, a 10th-minute Zach Leon header off a corner kick going over the crossbar. UCSD, on the other hand, accumulated 16 shots and reached double digits in corner kicks for a second straight game, earning 10. Moreno, a true freshman, stopped one shot for the Pioneers.

The Tritons, who began the weekend as the nation's No. 1 side statistically with a 0.27 team goals-against average, came out of the Bay Area trip with a 0.30 mark.

UC San Diego continues a four-game road stretch to conclude the regular-season schedule this Thursday afternoon, Oct. 27, at Cal State San Bernardino. Kickoff at Premier Field is set for 12:30 p.m.

"We are excited to get back to San Diego and get back to work," concluded Pascale. "We are looking forward to playing a very good San Bernardino team."

Triton Notes: The Tritons maintain the league's longest active win streak ... This is their longest since another seven-gamer from Sept. 20-Oct. 11, 2013 ... UCSD has reached the 13-win mark for the second time in Jon Pascale's ninth year in charge, having gone 14-3-5 in 2013 ... This is now the Tritons' longest unbeaten streak of the Pascale era, and the program's lengthiest single-season unbeaten stretch of the NCAA Division II era ... UCSD was unbeaten for 10 straight games (8-0-2) over two seasons, from Oct. 12, 2007, to Sept. 17, 2008, and unbeaten for nine (8-0-1) during the 1999 campaign, from Sept. 22-Oct. 22 ... UCSD is 4-1-1 on the road in 2016, with four wins in a row after starting with a scoreless draw and 1-0 loss ... Of Malek Bashti's six collegiate goals, four have been game-winners ... Nick Palano's goal was the first for the Tritons from a direct free kick this season, and first since Brandon Monteiro Magpayo's 76th-minute winner at home against Cal State Monterey Bay on Oct. 9, 2015 ... The Tritons produced multiple goals in a third consecutive game for the first time in 2016, and the first time since a four-game stretch from Sept. 9-18, 2014 ... UCSD has qualified for a fourth consecutive CCAA Tournament for the second time since it joined in 2000, the other stretch coming from 2002-05 ... The Tritons remain an unbeaten 11-0-1 all-time against the Pioneers, and have not surrendered a single goal to Cal State East Bay in nine-plus meetings (832:30) going back to a 3-2 UCSD win in Hayward on Oct. 9, 2009.

#AllForOne

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