THE SCHEDULE
Match 19 - CCAA Championship Semifinal
vs. No. 24 Chico State (13-3-2)
Friday, Nov. 8 • 11 a.m.
Warrior Stadium • Turlock
Live Stats

Match 20 - CCAA Championship Final
vs. TBD
Sunday, Nov. 10 • 12:30 p.m.
Warrior Stadium • Turlock
Live Stats • Live Video

UCSD SET FOR FIRST POSTSEASON APPEARANCE SINCE 2005
The 16th-ranked Tritons (13-2-3) head to Turlock by way of Oakland this Wednesday night, Nov. 6, for the 2013 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship. As the second-place finisher (11-2-3, 36 points) in the CCAA's South Division, UCSD has earned the No. 2 seed at the four-team tournament, and will take on 22nd-ranked and third-seeded Chico State (11-3-2, 35 points) in the first CCAA semifinal on Friday, Nov. 8. Kickoff at host Cal State Stanislaus' Warrior Stadium is set for 11 a.m. Eleventh-ranked top seed Cal State L.A. faces No. 4 seed Sonoma State in the other semifinal at 1:30 p.m., with the winners meeting in the championship game Sunday at 12:30 p.m. All matches at the CCAA Championship will have live stats. Should the Tritons advance into Sunday's final, that contest will have live video, free of charge. UCSD is unbeaten over its last six (4-0-2) since a 1-0 home loss to Chico State on Oct. 13, and 6-1-1 outside of La Jolla this season.

TRITONS VS. 'CATS: PART III
Friday's match will mark the third meeting this season between rivals UCSD and Chico State. With each team having won a narrow 1-0 decision on the opponent's field, the neutral-site semifinal showdown will serve as the rubber match. Taylor Wirth's (Escondido/La Costa Canyon HS) first collegiate goal at the 27:55 mark gave the Tritons the victory over then-14th-ranked Chico State in its home opener on Sept. 20, with Josh Cohen making three saves for the clean sheet. The Wildcats returned the favor in La Jolla on Oct. 13, with Justin Walmsley heading in a Justin Saul free kick at the 92:09 mark of the first overtime to nip UCSD, then ranked No. 6. When the two teams line up against each other in Turlock, they will both be ranked, with the Tritons now 16th (tied-Quincy) and 'Cats 24th (tied-Slippery Rock).

CCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the 2013 CCAA Championship can be purchased at Warrior Stadium on the day of the game, beginning one hour prior to the first kickoff time, meaning 10 a.m. on Friday and 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. Two-day tournament passes are available online by clicking here. Ticket prices and more information can be accessed here.

CCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
UCSD will be making its sixth appearance at the CCAA Championship, and first since 2005. The Tritons previously qualified for four consecutive installments from 2002-05, after earning their first berth in their inaugural year in Division II and the CCAA in 2000. UCSD has gone 1-4-1 at the event, being eliminated on four occassions in the semifinal round, with a 5-1 defeat to Friday's semifinal opponent, Chico State, in its lone CCAA final in 2003 in Carson. The Tritons are 0-2 all-time at the event against Sonoma State, including a 3-1 defeat in their last showing in a 2005 semifinal, also in Turlock. UCSD has never met Cal State L.A. at the CCAA tourney.

2005 - Warrior Soccer Field, Turlock
Semifinal - Sonoma State 3, UC San Diego 1
2004 - Toro Field, Carson
Semifinal - Cal State Bakersfield 1, UC San Diego 1 (CSUB advanced on penalty kicks, 3-1)
2003 - Toro Field, Carson
Semifinal - UC San Diego 2, Cal State Dominguez Hills 1
Championship - Chico State 5, UC San Diego 1
2002 - Luchessi Park, Petaluma
Semifinal - Cal State Dominguez Hills 1, UC San Diego 0
2000 - Toro Field, Carson
Semifinal - Sonoma State 4, UC San Diego 1

ELEVEN TRITONS HONORED ON SENIOR DAY
Eleven UCSD standouts were recognized prior to kickoff on Senior Day at Triton Soccer Stadium last Sunday, Nov. 3. The group is made up of Cohen, Wirth, Alec Arsht, Andisheh Bagheri, Jesse Brennan, Elan Gefen, Tsuk Haroush, Gavin Lamming, Will Pleskow, Nick Roberts and Cory Wolfrom.

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
UCSD moved up one spot for the second straight week, from No. 17 to No. 16, in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll, released Tuesday. The showing at No. 6 on Oct. 8 was the program's highest ranking of the Division II era (since 2000). Before ascending from No. 22 to No. 10 on Oct. 1, the Tritons previously were as high as No. 15 on Sept. 13, 2005. UCSD was last as high as sixth in any poll on Nov. 11, 1996, when it was No. 6 in the final Division III ranking of the 1996 regular season. In its first in-season installment of 2013 on Sept. 10, UCSD entered the NSCAA national rankings, at No. 25, for the very first time under sixth-year head coach Jon Pascale. The Tritons' last appearance before that occurred on Nov. 1, 2005, at No. 19 ahead of the CCAA Championship.

TRITONS UP TO SECOND IN NCAA REGIONAL POLL
The NCAA's third (and second-to-last) regional polls were announced on Wednesday, with UCSD up from No. 3 to No. 2 in the West, behind only Cal State L.A. The Tritons are ahead of Chico State, Simon Fraser, Cal State Monterey Bay, Seattle Pacific, Cal State Dominguez Hills and Sonoma State. With no automatic bids from the West Region on the men's side, the top six in the final edition will earn qualification into the 2013 NCAA Championship. The selection show can be viewed livehere on Monday, Nov. 11, beginning at 4 p.m.

TRITONS IN THE PRESS
On Oct. 15, Pascale and the program were featured on NSCAA TV. On Oct. 31, UCSD and Bagheri were highlighted in Tod Leonard's biweekly Local Colleges column in the U-T San Diego.

TRITONS CLINCH CCAA TOURNEY RETURN
With a pair of 2-1 home triumphs the weekend of Oct. 25-27, UCSD clinched its first CCAA Championship berth since 2005. The Tritons finished in second place in the CCAA South Division, one point behind Cal State L.A., which picked up two extra points on Friday, Nov. 1, when seven points were taken away from Cal State Monterey Bay for three matches in which it fielded an ineligible player. UCSD needed to beat CSULA at home on Nov. 3, for its first divisional title since 2003 and the top seed at the CCAA Championship. The match ended in a 1-1 tie. Following a 2-0 loss at Cal State Monterey Bay in its regular-season finale, Chico State settled for third in the South, one point back of UCSD. Sonoma State took the last spot as the lone North entrant, winning that division with a 9-4-3 mark and 33 points.

BAGHERI BAGGING THE GOALS
Having entered his fourth and final season in a Triton uniform with two career goals, Bagheri has enjoyed a breakout campaign. He leads the team with 10 goals, tied for fourth-best in the conference. That haul includes a league-best six game-winners, with no other player in the CCAA having more than four. The Davis native has tallied in each of his past five matches, missing the road win at Cal Poly Pomona on Nov. 1, with six goals during this stretch. The 10 strikes are the most by a Triton since former All-American Matt Davey achieved that total as a senior in 2005. Courtesy of goals in six of eight matches in the month of October, with seven in all to lead UCSD to a 6-1-1 record, Bagheri was named Tuesday as a San Diego Hall of Champions Star of the Month.

PREMIER DEFENSE
Through games played on Nov. 3, the Tritons are second in the NCAA Division II in goals-against average (0.43), eighth in shutout percentage (0.56) and ninth in save percentage (0.864). Last season, they led the nation with a CCAA-record 0.44 GAA, and 0.71 shutout percentage. UCSD has kept 10 clean sheets out of 18 matches in 2013, including a stretch of seven straight shutout triumphs around which it did not surrender a goal for 766:07, that was snapped on Oct. 13. It marked the program's longest shutout streak in Division II, second-longest ever (845:12 in 1988) and fourth of 400-plus minutes since the start of the 2012 campaign. Individually, Cohen, No. 1 nationally in 2012 in goals-against average (0.397) and save percentage (.898), is currently third in GAA (0.427) and 10th in save percentage (0.862). The Tritons have given up only one goal in each of their other eight contests, and have allowed no more than one score over the past 22 games going back to a 3-0 loss at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Oct. 14, 2012. UCSD has posted 22 shutouts over its last 34.

CCAA STAT LEADERS
Cohen leads the CCAA in goals-against average (0.43) and shutouts (tied-10), is second in save percentage (0.862), and tied for third in least goals against (eight). Bagheri has two more game-winning goals, six, than anybody else in the conference. He is tied for fourth with 10 goals and fifth with 21 points. Brandon Bauman is tied for third with a team-best five assists. Fellow junior newcomer Alessandro Canale is tied for 16th with four goals, tied for 18th with 11 points, and tied for 20th with three assists.

ACADEMIC HONORS FOR TRITON PAIR
Arsht and Bagheri were each named Oct. 31 to the Capital One Academic All-District Men's Soccer First Team for the NCAA Division II District 8. Both are now two-time honorees, with Bagheri having earned the distinction in 2012 as well, and Arsht in 2011. They each move on to the Capital One Academic All-America ballot, with those awards being announced on Nov. 25.

BACK-LINE MATES AND WEEKLY CCAA HONOREES
UCSD's fourth-year senior center back tandem of Arsht and Lamming both earned Wilson/CCAA Player of the Week selection for UCSD this season. Arsht was named on Oct. 7. He led a pair of shutout road victories as the Tritons let up just 12 shot attempts over 180 minutes, and added his first goal of 2013 to cap a 2-0 triumph at Cal State East Bay on Oct. 6. Lamming was chosen on Sept. 24, similarly after anchoring the defense to two shutout road wins, over divisional foes who each entered that weekend undefeated. Lamming also headed in a 27th-minute corner kick from junior teammate Jacob Valadez for the lone goal at Cal State San Bernardino on Sept. 22.

ROAD SUPERLATIVES
In blanking then-No. 14 Chico State and Cal State San Bernardino 1-0 away from home on Sept. 20 and 22, respectively, UCSD completed its first sweep of a CCAA road weekend since 2010. That year, the Tritons edged Cal State Monterey Bay, 1-0 in Seaside on Friday, Sept. 24, before blanking San Francisco State, 2-0, two days later. UCSD repeated the two-game road sweep two weekends later, achieving comfortable 2-0 scorelines at defending CCAA champion Cal State Stanislaus on Oct. 4 and Cal State East Bay on Oct. 6. At 6-1-1, the Tritons have their most road wins since 2003, when they went 6-5 outside of La Jolla.

TRITON NOTES
UCSD is 11-0-1 when scoring first in 2013 and 8-0 when leading at halftime ... The Tritons' 13 overall wins are their most under Pascale, most in Division II, and most in nearly two decades, since going 13-6-2 in 1994 ... UCSD's 11 CCAA victories reflect a program record ... The Tritons got off to their best 10-game (8-1-1) start of the Division II era, and best since an unbeaten 9-0-1 opening to the 1988 Division III national championship season ... The seven-game win streak earlier this year was the Tritons' best in Division II, and longest since a nine-gamer in 1996 ... Cohen and redshirt freshman right backBrett Sampiere (Solana Beach/Torrey Pines HS) are the only Tritons to have played all 1686:06 in 2013 ... Arsht, Lamming, Sampiere and junior left back Matthew McClure have made up the back four in front of Cohen for a large majority of the current campaign and virtually every minute of the seven-game shutout stretch ... Cohen handled his 100th career save early in the opener at California Baptist (9/5), and his career-best 10 shutouts in 2013 give him a career total of 22, third-most in program history and tops in the Division II era ... Bagheri paces the team with 10 goals, 21 points and six game-winning goals ... Bagheri's winners have come on an overtime penalty kick at CBU, free kick vs. Sonoma State (9/29), penalties vs. CSUSB (10/11) and CPP (10/20), and second-half goals vs. SF State (10/25) and CSUMB (10/27) ... Bauman's team-leading five assists are the most by a Triton since Wolfrom set up eight scores in 2011 ... Bauman collected two assists each vs. Point Loma (9/7) and at Cal State East Bay (10/6), with Canale adding a two-assist game vs. CSUMB ... Two of Wolfrom's three goals in 2013 have been game-winners ... The 2-1 victory at CBU was UCSD's first of the comeback variety since a 4-1 home defeat of SF State on Oct. 28, 2011 ... The Tritons have since produced a second come-from-behind 2-1 win vs. CSUMB ... UCSD produced five 1-0 victories in 2012 and has six more in 2013, with Bagheri accounting for the lone goal in three of them.

HEAD COACH JON PASCALE
Pascale, the 2012 CCAA Coach of the Year, has posted a 57-35-17 (.601) overall record in his sixth season in charge of the UCSD men's soccer program. The 1-0 home victory over Sonoma State on Sept. 29 gave him career win No. 50, while the 2-0 triumph at Cal State Stanislaus on Oct. 4 marked his 100th match at the Triton helm. Pascale will direct his first postseason tilt on Friday in Turlock.

ABOUT THE WILDCATS
No. 24 Chico State enters the CCAA Championship at 13-3-2 overall. The Wildcats completed the league slate at 11-3-2 and in third place in the South Division with 35 points. Chico State is making its fourth straight appearance at the CCAA Championship (longest current streak), fifth in six seasons under current head coach Felipe Restrepo, and eighth in 16 years as a league member. The Wildcats are 3-5-2 all-time at the event, and won their only title in 2003 (5-1 against UCSD), en route to the NCAA title match. They had their 10-game unbeaten streak (8-0-2) snapped by a 2-0 loss at Cal State Monterey Bay in their most recent match last Sunday afternoon. Chico State is 11th in the country with a 0.59 goals-against average, having allowed just 11 opponent scores. Octavio Guzman leads the squad with 16 points from five goals and six assists. The junior provided a two-goal brace in Friday's 2-1 win at Cal State San Bernardino. Three teammates have three goals apiece. Senior Sam Evans (0.52 GAA, 15 saves, five shutouts) has started each of the last 11 contests in the net. The Wildcats were new to the South Division this year, swapping spots with SF State in the CCAA's two-year rotation. Chico State lost 3-2 to Cal State Stanislaus in Carson in the 2012 CCAA Championship final, its second successive defeat in the conference title match. The Wildcats are 9-2 away from home in 2013.

SERIES HISTORY
UCSD leads the all-time series, 9-6-2. Prior to splitting their two regular-season meetings this year, these teams played to a scoreless draw on Oct. 21, 2012, on Senior Day in La Jolla, with Cohen making a pair of stops over the 110 minutes. Chico State had been scoreless against UCSD for 317:08 prior to Walmsley's overtime winner on Oct. 13.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES
No. 11 Cal State L.A. is 12-1-5 overall and finished first in the South with a 10-1-5 league ledger and 37 points. The Golden Eagles have qualified for their third straight CCAA Championship and were 2011 champions. They are fourth in the nation with a 0.47 goals-against average (nine goals allowed), and an unbeaten 8-0-5 over their last 13 since their lone loss of 2013, 1-0 at last-place SF State on Sept. 20. CSULA posted six successive clean sheets between a 4-2 home win over Cal State East Bay on Oct. 11, and Bagheri's free-kick strike to open the scoring in last Sunday's 1-1 draw in La Jolla. Sophomore transfer Andre Bissmark leads the team offensively with 16 points from six goals and four assists. Junior Halil Tozar has five goals and four assists, while senior Juan Ochoa has added four goals and five assists. Junior goalkeeper Mike Beigarten (0.47 GAA, 62 saves) shares the CCAA shutouts lead with Cohen at 10 apiece. Cal State L.A., which has topped the South Division in each of the last three seasons, is led by 11th-year head coach Chris Chamides. The Golden Eagles are 3-1-5 away from home.

SERIES HISTORY
Cal State L.A. narrowly leads the all-time series between these division rivals, 12-11-3, following its 1-0 home win earlier this season back on Sept. 15 and Sunday's 1-1 tie. Troy Dumlao scored the unassisted decider in the first meeting just 61 seconds into the second half. Bagheri and Bissmark traded second-half goals in the more recent match-up. CSULA swept the home-and-home set a year ago, both by 1-0 scorelines. The Golden Eagles first notched a double-overtime winner at 105:04 at home, before grabbing a lone goal just 62 seconds into the return meeting in La Jolla. Prior to Sunday's draw, the Tritons had dropped five straight in the series since a 1-0 triumph in Los Angeles on Oct. 10, 2010, that goal coming off a 63rd-minute free kick by current volunteer assistant coach Adam Zernik.

ABOUT THE SEAWOLVES
Sonoma State enters its first CCAA Championship since 2010 at 10-4-4 overall, having completed CCAA play at 9-4-3 and atop the North Division. The Seawolves have extended their unbeaten streak to eight games (6-0-2) since a 5-0 home defeat to Cal State Dominguez Hills, through three consecutive road wins, all by one-goal margins. They are winners of five straight. Taylor Varnadore, who can play both center back and striker, leads Sonoma State with 25 points from 11 goals and three assists. Aaron Glover has three goals and a pair of assists, while Nico Spann has a team-best five assists. A fourth senior, Beau Diaz (0.99 GAA, 54 saves, seven shutouts), is the starting goalkeeper. Marcus Ziemer is in his 23rd season at the helm of his alma mater. The Seawolves, three-time CCAA champions (2010, 2008, 2005), are 6-3-1 away from home in 2013.

SERIES HISTORY
Sonoma State leads the all-time series, 11-4-1, but the Tritons have knocked off the Seawolves three straight times. UCSD took this year's regular-season meeting, 1-0, in La Jolla on Sept. 29 on a redirected Bagheri free kick in the 31st minute. In Rohnert Park a season ago on Oct. 5, it was 2-0 in favor of the Tritons through a 10th-minute own goal and a 32nd-minute strike from Haroush. Sonoma State managed just four shots in that 2012 meeting, its lowest total since 2005. It marked just the second time UCSD had ever won in Rohnert Park. The Tritons also took the previous match-up in La Jolla, 2-1 in double overtime in 2011.

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THE BIG PICTURE
We want to reward you for posting your creative photos. Tweet and Instagram your pics from any UCSD Athletics event and include our #TritonsRising hashtag. At the end of every month, we'll pick our favorite photos and dole out some swag to the winners!

UP NEXT
Regardless of the outcome in Turlock this weekend, UCSD will await the announcement of the field for the 2013 NCAA Division II Championship, which will be revealed live on NCAA.com on Monday, Nov. 11, beginning at 4 p.m.

#TritonsRising