THE SCHEDULE
Match 13 - Homecoming
vs. No. 12 Cal State LA (7-1-3, 5-1 CCAA)
Friday, Oct. 14 • 7 p.m.
Triton Soccer Stadium • La Jolla
Live Video • Live Stats

Match 14 - Senior Day
vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills (7-4-1, 4-2 CCAA)
Sunday, Oct. 16 • 2 p.m.
Triton Soccer Stadium • La Jolla
Live Video • Live Stats

NO. 21 UC SAN DIEGO LOOKS TO CONTINUE HOME DOMINANCE
The 21st-ranked University of California San Diego men's soccer team concludes the home portion of its California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule with two big games against top South rivals this week. UC San Diego (9-1-2, 4-1-1 CCAA) hosts No. 12 Cal State LA (7-1-3, 5-1 CCAA) on Friday, Oct. 14, in primetime at 7 p.m., and then Cal State Dominguez Hills (7-4-1, 4-2 CCAA) on Sunday, Oct. 16, at 2 p.m. on Senior Day. This is also Homecoming weekend for Triton Athletics. Both contests cap off doubleheaders with the No. 9 UCSD women at Triton Soccer Stadium. The Tritons are a still-unbeaten 7-0-1 in La Jolla in 2016. They have won three straight, the longest active streak in the CCAA, and are 4-0-1 over their last five.

TRITON SOCCER MATCHDAY
Once again in 2016, all regular-season home matches at Triton Soccer Stadium are free to attend. Parking permits are required, however, on weeknights on the UC San Diego campus. Parking permits can be purchased at machines situated at corners of either of the nearest parking lots, behind the spectator stand, as well as the Hopkins Parking Structure adjacent to RIMAC. Parking is free on Saturday and Sunday.

TRITON SOCCER NOW ON UCSDTRITONS.TV!
For the very first time, all matches at Triton Soccer Stadium in 2016 feature a live video stream on UCSDtritons.tv. The platform, the product of a partnership between UC San Diego Athletics and local broadband services and technology giant ViaSat, is in its first full year. All broadcasts are in multi-camera high definition, and can be viewed from smartphones and tablets alongside desktop and laptop computers. UC San Diego alum and former baseball pitcher (2007-08) Tim Strombel (@Timmy2Sides) handles the play-by-play duties, and welcomes an array of guests. Viewing is subscription-based, though it is free from UCSD campus IP addresses. A package that gives viewers access to all streamed events (baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, volleyball, water polo and more) throughout the 2016-17 academic year is available for $34.99. A single-day option can be purchased for $5.99, meaning doubleheaders are two-for-one. Events are archived.

MORE LIVE COVERAGE
All games have live stats. Select road matches will also have video. Fans can access live coverage from the Schedule/Results page, or by clicking on the links above. Starting lineups, live in-game updates and other news and notes can be found by following Triton Soccer all season long on the UCSD Athletics Twitter handle (@UCSDtritons). Finally, check out the CCAA live scoreboard here to keep up on results around the league.

SENIOR DAY SUNDAY!
Nine UC San Diego seniors will be recognized prior to the approximate 2 p.m. kickoff this Sunday at Triton Soccer Stadium against Cal State Dominguez Hills. The ceremony is slated for a 1:50 p.m. start, unless the women's game goes into overtime. This year's senior class is made up of Malek Bashti, Justice Duerksen, Riley Harbour, Cameron McElfresh, Nick Palano, Sam Palano, Brett Sampiere, Tyler Shaver and Kuba Waligorski.

RANKINGS REPORT
UC San Diego returned to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll this Tuesday, back into the No. 21 position. The Tritons debuted there on Sept. 20, before falling into the receiving votes category just outside of the top 25, for the past two weeks. They also moved up from fourth to third in the West, which has been their high for 2016. Friday's opponent, Cal State LA, is 12th nationally and second in the West, while Sunday's foe, CSUDH, is sixth in the West. The Toros were No. 20 in Division II last week before back-to-back losses. The initial No. 21 appearance marked UCSD's first national ranking since a No. 9 listing in the 2014 preseason. The first edition of the official NCAA regional polls, which directly influence the NCAA Championship field, will be unveiled next Wednesday, Oct. 19.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
UC San Diego produced a critical road sweep in CCAA play last weekend, rallying for a late 2-1 triumph at SF State on Friday, before a 2-0 shutout at Cal State Monterey Bay on Sunday. Justice Duerksen converted a penalty at 78:57 and provided a perfect cross for Uly de la Cal to flick home at the near post at 81:08, to overturn a 1-0 deficit in San Francisco. That result enabled the Tritons to vault right over the Gators and into the all-important sixth spot in the league table. They then got a score in each half by Steven Ortiz and Malek Bashti Sunday at CSUMB to move up to fourth. The goal by Ortiz was his first for UCSD, and Bashti's his first since Oct. 30, 2014. Cameron McElfresh made four saves for another clean sheet. UCSD had last swept a CCAA road weekend in 2013, winning at Stanislaus State on Oct. 4 and Cal State East Bay on Oct. 6, both 2-0.

AROUND THE CCAA
With the weekend road sweep, UCSD moved from a tie for eighth in the CCAA, into a tie for fourth, now with Sonoma State at 13 points each. The top two teams in the table, reigning champion Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino, are at 16 points apiece, but the Tritons have two games in hand over each. Both are idle this week. UCSD's home opponents this weekend, CSULA and CSUDH, are third (15) and sixth (12), respectively. The top six teams make the CCAA Tournament field next month. Click here for the latest standings and here to follow the action via the live scoreboard.

RETURN TO PREMIER DEFENSE
UCSD has allowed just four goals over 1145:31, for a goals-against average of 0.31, which now tops all of the NCAA Division II. Three have come from the run of play, the other a free-kick strike by Azusa Pacific. The team's longest shutout stretch of the year has been 513:54 through four-plus successive clean sheets, with another recent one of 356:51 and three-plus. The Tritons boasted one of the top seven defenses nationally in Division II in terms of team GAA for three straight seasons between 2012-14, but fell back to the 48th spot a year ago (1.09). They led the country in that category in 2012 with a then-CCAA-record mark of 0.44, before finishing fourth in 2013 (0.52) and seventh in 2014 (0.65).

McELFRESH BREAKS RECORD, LEADS NATION
On Sept. 25 against Chico State, Cameron McElfresh posted his fourth individual shutout of 2016 and 23rd of his five-year UCSD career, breaking former All-American teammate Josh Cohen's program record for the NCAA Division II era, since 2000. He had matched it with a clean sheet at Concordia on Sept. 17. McElfresh now has seven on the season and 26 as a Triton. The school standard is held by UCSD Athletics Hall of Famer Brian Siljander (1987-90), at 37. Michael Madden (1991-93) is second with 29. McElfresh leads the entire nation with his career-best goals-against average of .327. He is also second with his .895 save percentage.

HOME DOMINANCE UNDER PASCALE
UC San Diego is an unbeaten 7-0-1 at Triton Soccer Stadium in 2016, with two more regular-season home dates left this coming weekend. The Tritons went 5-1-2 inside the friendly confines in 2015. Under head coach Jon Pascaleover eight-plus years, the Tritons are 53-20-15 (.688) in La Jolla. They are an unbeaten 9-0-2 in their last 11 at Triton Soccer Stadium, since a 2-1 loss to Stanislaus State on Sept. 27, 2015. UCSD has thus not lost at home in over a full calendar year.

#PALANOPOWER
The Sept. 1 season opener versus Azusa Pacific meant the first time in the four-year college careers of Nick Palanoand Sam Palano that the identical twin brothers combined on a goal, and was also the first time they both scored in the same match. Sam continues to lead the team with 13 points from four goals and five assists. His first collegiate brace came against rival Chico State on Sept. 25. The twins have accounted for three of UCSD's nine game-winning tallies. Sam in fact had produced three straight goals for the team, with no other Triton having found the net over 594:39, leading up to Riley Harbour's overtime winner at 97:12 against Humboldt State on Oct. 2.

RALLY TRITONS
Three times in 2016, UCSD has surrendered a game's first score before rallying for a 2-1 victory via late goals. The Tritons achieved the feat twice at home to begin the year. Sam Palano volleyed in the 68th-minute equalizer and turned provider for twin brother Nick Palano with just 1:41 left in the second overtime to down Azusa Pacific on Sept. 1. Then it was Riley Harbour's hero turn on Sept. 3 against Westmont, as he slotted home his first of the year in the 79th minute, after Uly de la Cal had tied the match late in the first half. On Oct. 7 at SF State, Justice Duerksenconverted a penalty kick at 78:57 to level the score in a contest with giant postseason implications. He then produced a perfect cross for de la Cal to flick home for the decider at 81:08.

OFFENSIVE UPTICK
UC San Diego has 19 goals over 12 games in 2016, already eclipsing its 18-game total of 15 from a year ago. The Tritons struck twice in both of their first two matches, having not produced multiple scores in back-to-back games even once in 2015. UCSD then hit for six on Sept. 10 against Saint Martin's, achieving its first 6-0 scoreline since another home defeat, that one over Cal State East Bay, in the 2010 finale (Oct. 31). Five of those goals came before the break, marking the first period of play for the Tritons with five goals, since the second frame of that East Bay matchup. UCSD scored twice in successive games a second time, Oct. 7 and Oct. 9.

OVERTIME FORTUNES OVERTURNED
The double-overtime triumph over Azusa Pacific on Sept. 1 marked UCSD's first overtime win since Malek Bashti's first collegiate goal took down rival Chico State in the 2013 CCAA semifinals in Turlock. The Tritons went 0-1-12 in overtime contests in 2014 and 2015, with 12 straight draws since, ironically, a 1-0 double-overtime loss to APU in La Jolla on Sept. 20, 2014. They added a second overtime victory, 1-0 at home against Humboldt State, on Oct. 2, and are 2-0-2 in extras.

PROGRAM FIRST FOR CAM
Cameron McElfresh on Oct. 4 became the first UCSD men's player named the NSCAA Division II National Player of the Week, following his back-to-back home shutouts over the previous weekend. The NSCAA expanded its weekly awards program to include the Division II ranks back in 2013.

TRITON NOTES
After missing the entire 2015 season through injury and entering the year with one career assist, redshirt junior striker Malek Bashti leads the entire CCAA with six helpers despite missing three games ... Sam Palano is second with five ... Click here to watch Riley Harbour's overtime winner against Humboldt State on Oct. 2 ... UC San Diego is 9-6-2 in CCAA openers after a 1-0 loss at CSUSM on Sept. 21, which snapped a string of two straight wins ... UCSD is 12-3-2 in season openers in its NCAA Division II era, since 2000, following the Sept. 1 defeat of Azusa Pacific, 2-1, with the Tritons an unbeaten 3-0-1 over their last four ... UCSD was picked fifth in the CCAA preseason coaches' poll, with reigning West Region champion CPP the favorite.

2016 SEASON OUTLOOK
UC San Diego had no seniors on its 2015 roster, but has eight in 2016. The Tritons welcome back the core of their defense in redshirt seniors Cameron McElfresh in goal and Brett Sampiere and Kuba Waligorski on the back line alongside junior Kyle Panganiban. Waligorski is a two-time All-CCAA Second Team pick, with McElfresh gaining All-CCAA honorable mentions for each of the past two years without missing a single minute between the posts. Sampiere, making a permanent return to his natural spot at right back, earned All-CCAA honorable mentions in 2013 and 2015. Nolan Mac and Jeff Powers were in the lineup at times and will vie for minutes.

The offensive production should be boosted by the return of Malek Bashti after missing 2015 through injury. Junior Uly de la Cal tied for the team high in points from two goals and three assists a year ago. Senior Riley Harbour, one of two Tritons he shared that designation with, is back in central midfield, as are Justice Duerksen, Zachary Lagottaand Nick Palano among wing options. Lagotta was All-CCAA honorable mention as a sophomore in 2015. Forward Sam Palano joins his identical twin brother as a fourth-year senior who will be counted on.

2015 REWIND
UC San Diego is coming off of three successive postseason appearances in the form of the CCAA Tournament, with NCAA Championship berths in 2013 and 2014. The Tritons went 6-6-6 in 2015, breaking a string of five straight years with an overall winning percentage of greater than .500 under head coach Jon Pascale. UCSD lost just one of its last seven regular-season contests, and was 5-3-4 in league play.

ROSTER NOTES
Among 29 players on the 2016 roster are 23 returners, just six newcomers, and eight seniors. There are four San Diego products, in redshirt senior right back Brett Sampiere (Solana Beach/Torrey Pines HS), junior winger Zachary Lagotta (Cathedral Catholic HS), sophomore forward Nathaniel Bloom (Encinitas/San Dieguito HS Academy) and redshirt freshman midfielder Daniel Boemer (San Diego/Scripps Ranch HS).

CCAA FORMAT UNCHANGED
For the third year in a row, the CCAA slate consists of a single round robin, with every team facing off once against one another for 12 matches total, and the top six sides (based on most points; three for a league win, one for a tie) in the final regular-season standings qualifying for the 2016 CCAA Tournament. Cal State San Marcos, a new addition in 2015, is ineligible again this time around. First-round matchups will take place on the campuses of the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds on Tuesday, Nov. 1. The semifinals and final will be hosted by Stanislaus State for the sixth time in the last eight years, at Warrior Stadium in Turlock, Nov. 4-6.

HEAD COACH JON PASCALE
Jon Pascale, a two-time CCAA Coach of the Year through back-to-back honors in 2012 and 2013, has posted an 83-47-33 (.610) overall record in his ninth season in charge of the UC San Diego men's soccer program. He is 60-38-24 (.590) in arguably the toughest NCAA Division II conference in the nation, the CCAA. Pascale has guided the Tritons to six straight campaigns with an overall record of .500 or better, and six winning seasons out of his eight. They are coming off of three successive berths in the CCAA Tournament, with trips to the NCAA Championship in 2013 and 2014. A 1-0 home victory over Sonoma State on Sept. 29, 2013, gave him career win No. 50, while a 2-0 triumph at Stanislaus State in the very next match on Oct. 4 marked his 100th contest at the Triton helm. Pascale directed his first postseason tilt on Nov. 8, 2013, in Turlock, a come-from-behind, 2-1 overtime win over rival Chico State in a CCAA semifinal. He made his NCAA Championship debut as a head coach on Nov. 16, 2013, in La Jolla. A 2-0 home decision over Cal State East Bay on Oct. 12, 2014, meant CCAA win No. 50 for Pascale, who coached his 100th CCAA tilt at Cal State Monterey Bay five days later.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES
No. 12 Cal State LA (7-1-3, 5-1 CCAA) has won six of its last seven around its lone loss of 2016, a 1-0 home defeat to SF State on Oct. 2. Last week, the Golden Eagles blanked then-20th-ranked local rival Cal State Dominguez Hills at home, 2-0, and then Chico State on the road, 1-0. Junior defender Ihsan Kalkan is the reigning CCAA Player of the Week after aiding in the pair of clean sheets, while also providing the free-kick opener in the fourth minute against the Toros. Cal State LA is directed by 14th-year head coach Chris Chamides. The Golden Eagles were CCAA champions in 2011 and 2013, and West Region champs in 2014.

SERIES HISTORY
CSULA holds a narrow edge in the all-time series between these rivals, at 14-13-4, following a 3-1 win in the CCAA Tournament first round in Los Angeles last Nov. 3. It meant the Golden Eagles have ended the Tritons' season the last two years. UCSD took a 1-0 decision, also in Los Angeles, in the 2015 regular-season meeting on Oct. 4. That was thanks to an 88th-minute, far-post Nick Palano volley from a right-sided Zachary Lagotta cross. The result gave the Tritons back-to-back regular-season wins at CSULA, having come out on top by the identical 1-0 score on Sept. 26, 2014, through a 75th-minute Brandon Bauman penalty kick. CSULA did later end UCSD's 2014 season, however, in the first round of the NCAA Championship in Azusa on Nov. 13, the squads playing to a 1-1 deadlock before the 14th-ranked Golden Eagles advanced via penalty-kick tiebreaker, 5-4. The teams faced off three times in 2013, with a pair of 1-0 wins going in favor of the Golden Eagles around a 1-1 draw in the regular-season finale in La Jolla. CSULA had won three straight against UCSD in Los Angeles, all 1-0, prior to the 2014 matchup. The Tritons had not upended CSULA anywhere over their previous seven meetings (0-6-1) since a 1-0 triumph in Los Angeles on Oct. 10, 2010. Of those six losses, five were by the final score of 1-0.

ABOUT THE TOROS
Cal State Dominguez Hills (7-4-1, 4-2 CCAA) dropped both its games last week to fall out of the No. 20 spot in the national poll. The Toros were blanked for a second time this year by area rivals Cal State LA, 2-0, this time on the road, and then also lost 3-1 at Chico State. Junior midfielder Joey Chica leads the CCAA in goals (10) and points (24). CSUDH is 2-3 away from home in 2016, and first plays at Cal State San Marcos on Friday at 3 p.m. Head coach Joe Flanagan is in his 23rd season in charge of the men's program at his alma mater.

SERIES HISTORY
Cal State Dominguez Hills leads the all-time series, 17-5-6, and was a 1-0 victor at home last Oct. 2 on a goal at 62:00 by current junior Brian Chavez. UCSD won the lone matchup in 2014, 2-0 at home on Senior Night on Oct. 30. Both meetings in 2013 ended in 1-1 draws. The teams split their two games in 2012, with the Tritons taking a 1-0 decision in La Jolla in late September, and the Toros producing a 3-0 victory in Carson in mid-October. The three goals surrendered were a season high for UCSD, having allowed just eight that whole year.

GEAR UP
For the latest in Triton athletic gear, make sure to visit ucsdtritonsgear.com. Run by UCSD Athletics' online partner Advanced-Online, the site provides an on-demand option for Triton Athletic apparel and merchandise. Fans have access to over 600 products that can be processed and shipped within 24 hours.

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 UCSD home athletic events, and much more!

SOCIAL MEDIA (#AllForOne)
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UP NEXT
The Tritons head to Northern California for the second time next week, taking on Stanislaus State in Turlock on Friday, Oct. 21, at 4:30 p.m., and then Cal State East Bay in Hayward on Sunday, Oct. 23, at 11:30 a.m.

#AllForOne