UCSD Men Earn Valuable Point at Chico State

October 24, 2015

CHICO, Calif. - The UC San Diego men’s soccer team and archrival Chico State drew 1-1 after two overtimes, as the Tritons came away from their California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) finale that held giant postseason implications with a valuable road point Friday at University Soccer Stadium.

UCSD moved to 6-5-6 overall and 5-3-4 in the CCAA. Chico State is now 5-6-3 overall and 3-4-2 in league play. UCSD is in a three-way tie for third in the standings, remaining eight points clear of the Wildcats, but with three more games played.

Friday's contest marked the end of the Tritons' 2015 regular-season schedule. They will now wait out the final eight days of the CCAA slate to see if their 19 points hold up against the rest of the field and earn them a third straight postseason berth. The top six sides in the final standings qualify of the 2015 CCAA Tournament.

UCSD opened the scoring at the 19:19 mark. The Tritons earned a free kick from 30-35 yards out toward the left side. Freshman Brandon Monteiro Magpayo took the kick, and junior teammate Riley Harbour met it at the back post, heading it over the Wildcat goalkeeper and into the opposite netting for a 1-0 edge. It was Harbour's second goal of the season and Monteiro Magpayo's first collegiate assist.

Early in the second period, sophomore striker Uly de la Cal's shot from the left was parried out to a corner kick by Wildcat goalie Andrew Matthews.

Chico State equalized at 59:30, as Omar Nuno converted on a penalty kick gained from a hand ball called near the top of the penalty area. The junior striker went straight up the middle with his try, and as the Tritons' redshirt junior goalkeeper Cameron McElfresh dove to his right, came away with his team-leading eighth goal. It went down as the home side's first shot attempt of the second half.

UCSD came close to going back up late in regulation. A left-sided throw-in was flicked toward the far post, with freshman winger Christian Cordell sliding in to try to poke the ball home, only for Matthews to smother the chance. A short time later, de la Cal's effort from a narrow angle on the right went well high of the target.

The Wildcats almost grabbed the winner 3:09 into the first overtime session, Octavio Murillo going just wide to the right. Neither side could find the decider.

"I thought the team played very well," remarked UCSD head coach Jon Pascale. "We overcame a brutal travel schedule and four games in (eight) days. Chico State was a very good opponent, but I thought we controlled the majority of the match. We were a little unfortunate to get the penalty called against us, and their goalkeeper made a great save late in the match (on Cordell). I thought those two plays were the difference."

McElfresh made one save in net for UCSD. Matthews, a redshirt freshman, had four stops for Chico State.

The Tritons earned the result despite a slew of injury absences. They took just 19 to Northern California, whereas conference rules allow 22 in the travel party, leaving the likes of Justice Duerksen, Danny Glascock and Brett Sampiere back in La Jolla and losing Nolan Mac as a last-minute scratch in Chico. Malek Bashti, Matt Merrill and Sean Pleskow have not played this year and are redshirting.

UCSD had taken back-to-back 1-0 decisions over its previous two forays into Chico, in 2013 and 2014.

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