LA JOLLA, Calif. - Mission impossible? Mission accomplished!

Playing each of its last six games with its back against the wall following a 4-2 home loss to then-seventh-ranked Cal State Stanislaus, the UC San Diego women’s soccer team put the finishing touches on an incredible stretch run Thursday at Triton Soccer Stadium to clinch a return to the postseason.

The Tritons blanked visiting Cal State Dominguez Hills, 3-0, on Senior Night to grab the No. 6 seed for the 2014 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship. UCSD will travel to third-seeded Cal Poly Pomona for a first-round contest this Sunday, Nov. 2, with game time set for 11:30 a.m.

UCSD improved to 9-5-3 overall and completed the 11-game CCAA slate at 6-3-2. The Tritons held off reigning league champion Cal State Stanislaus, still ranked No. 24 nationally, which beat Cal State East Bay at home on Thursday night, 2-0, but needed UCSD to drop points.

That didn’t happen.

UCSD looked by far the better side from the outset, and with control of its own postseason fate, would not be denied. Redshirt sophomore Kiera Bocchino scored twice on either side of the halftime break, and Jordyn McNutt (San Diego/University City HS) notched an insurance third in the 51st minute as the Tritons cruised.

UCSD had missed just its very first CCAA tournament a year ago after qualifying for 13 straight installments since joining the league for the 2000 campaign. The Tritons head into the 2014 edition as record eight-time CCAA tourney champions.

Brian McManus added to his legend at the helm of the UCSD women’s soccer program by guiding his side to a 5-0-1 run following that home defeat to Stanislaus. That stretch included a four-game road swing during which the Tritons went 3-0-1 without surrendering a goal. All told, they have not conceded now over the last 549:13. UCSD has outscored opponents 13-2 since facing a 3-0 halftime deficit against the Warriors on Oct. 10.

Cassie Callahan (Coronado/Coronado HS), Kylie Hill, Kiley Leshin, Izzy Pozurama and Michelle Yasutake were recognized prior to kickoff on Senior Night.

Callahan set up the opener at the 23:27 mark, procuring the ball before sending a cross from the right wing. Bocchino expertly took it down with her first touch, before knocking a right-footed half-volley into the bottom left corner of the net.

Just 36 seconds following the restart, freshman forward Katie O’Laughlin (Carlsbad/Pacific Ridge School) slipped a through ball up the middle, with Bocchino turning it into the lower left corner again from around the penalty spot. It marked the Laguna Hills product’s first collegiate two-goal brace, giving her a career-high four scores on the year.

Within five minutes, it was over. O’Laughlin crossed from the right toward the far post, with Bocchino knocking it back toward the near side, where McNutt was waiting to pounce. The freshman winger and local product, like Bocchino twice before her, found the bottom left corner with her right foot for her fifth of the season. O’Laughlin’s two assists on the night were the first two of her college career. Callahan and Bocchino’s helpers gave them three apiece for 2014.

Kelcie Brodsky made three saves over the first 77:16 before giving way to fellow junior Itzel Gonzalez as the duo combined on the shutout. Gonzalez made her second appearance of the campaign. Cortney Coyle had one stop in goal for the Toros.

The Tritons created scoring chances early and often. Pozurama went wide to the left in the ninth minute after a feed from Hill. Thirty seconds later, McNutt accepted a right-sided cross by fellow freshman Aimee Ellis, but put her shot wide to the right.

After her first goal, Bocchino had back-to-back shots from close range in the 28th minute, but the first was blocked by a defender and the second saved by Coyle.

Cal State Dominguez Hills almost equalized in the 31st minute as Sami Feinstein produced a strong header, but Brodsky was able to save it out for a corner kick.

Bocchino thought she had a hat trick in the 68th minute after finishing off a pass from the right by sophomore left back Kristen Sampietro, but the flag was up for offside. UCSD finished with a hefty 19-10 advantage in shots taken.

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