CHICO, Calif. - Brandon Bauman’s second late winner in as many California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) road games netted the UC San Diego men another critical 1-0 triumph, this one over rival Chico State, Sunday at University Soccer Stadium.

Bauman intercepted a headed clearance attempt and sent his shot into the upper left corner at 84:52 for his team-best fourth goal of 2014. The senior playmaker was also responsible for the 75th-minute decider, from the penalty spot, in a 1-0 win at Cal State L.A. in UCSD’s CCAA opener on Friday, Sept. 26.

The result moved UCSD to 8-3 overall and 3-1 in the CCAA. Chico State fell to 5-4-1 overall and a still-winless 0-4 in league play. The Wildcats have now dropped four straight one-goal decisions to open the CCAA portion of their season after a 5-0-1 start to the campaign had moved them up to a No. 5 national ranking.

The archrivals met a total of four times in 2013, with UCSD holding a 2-1-1 advantage, including a 1-1 draw in La Jolla in the second round of the NCAA Championship, when the Tritons ultimately advanced via penalty-kick tiebreaker. UCSD has now achieved back-to-back 1-0 successes in Chico.

“It was a typical game at Chico (State),” remarked UCSD head coach Jon Pascale. “Both teams didn’t give up a whole lot. They (Chico) always make it difficult. Our guys did a great job of weathering the storm early in the second half, before taking hold of the game the last 22 minutes or so.

“We really took control, created some great chances, and scored a good goal. We capitalized on a flurry in the (penalty) box, and Brandon’s (Bauman) finish was great. He was really calm to bring it down off his chest and volley it in.”

It was a second consecutive shutout for the Tritons and fifth on the year, all coming over the last seven matches. Junior goalkeeper Cameron McElfresh needed to make a single save for his fifth individual clean sheet of 2014 and eighth of his career.

“The defense played very well again,” added Pascale. “Chico never got a great look at our goal. They changed formations and tried to do some different things with their throw-ins and restarts, but our guys held up well.”

UCSD only had a pair of Alessandro Canale shots to show for its offensive effort after the second-half whistle, leading up to the goal by Bauman, who produced a team-best five assists without finding the back of the net in his first season as a Triton in 2013 after transferring in from Orange Coast College.

The first 29 minutes of the contest saw no shots between the sides and just a single corner kick, that by UCSD through Bauman in the ninth.

Sasha Peranteau finally logged the first attempt for the home side in the 30th, which was blocked by a defender and went out for a corner kick. UCSD’s initial effort came from freshman Charlie Keating in the 32nd minute, and was parried away by freshman goalkeeper Luke Dennison, with Sam Palano’s follow-up blocked. Twin brotherNick Palano had his shot with just 13 seconds left in the period saved by Dennison. The teams combined for just five attempts at a goal prior to the interval.

Dennison finished with two stops for the ‘Cats, who held an 8-6 edge in shots.

UCSD returns to La Jolla and awaits a pair of home matches on Homecoming weekend. The Tritons will host Cal State Stanislaus on Friday night, Oct. 10 (7 p.m.), and Cal State East Bay on Sunday, Oct. 12 (2:30 p.m.), at Triton Soccer Stadium.

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