LA JOLLA, Calif. - The UC San Diego men's soccer team, riding a three-game winning streak, is set to begin its final road trip of the 2009 California Collegiate Athletic Association regular season with matches against defending national champion Cal State Dominguez Hills and No. 13 Cal State L.A. this weekend.
The Tritons picked up two wins last week, both against Cal State East Bay, to improve to 7-3-4 overall and 4-3-3 in conference play. UCSD is fourth in the CCAA South and all six matches remaining in its regular season will be against division opponents.
Tritons' junior midfielder David Bakal helped his squad escape with a 3-2 win last Thursday on the road against CSUEB. Bakal assisted on junior forward Mikel Samaniego's opening score in the 21st minute and then later tallied his own goal at the 66:18 mark off a cross from junior midfielder Shane Micheil. On Sunday UCSD got an early goal from junior Aaron McDowell and freshman Kian Malek added a second-half score as the Tritons went on to win 2-0.
UCSD will challenge CSUDH (8-5-1, 7-4-1 CCAA) on Friday at 4:30 p.m. Senior midfielder Andrew Marinez has paced the Toros with five goals and two assists while freshman goalkeeper Markus Dickerson has been strong in net, topping Sonoma State and Humboldt State this past weekend to earn the Wilson/CCAA Player of the Week honor. The Tritons are 3-10-3 all-time against the Toros, including a 0-0 draw in La Jolla early last season. CSUDH is ranked sixth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) West Region poll while UCSD is No. 8.
CSULA, entering last weekend unbeaten and holding the NSCAA No. 1 national ranking, failed to score on the road against HSU and SSU, dropping respective 3-0 and 1-0 decisions. The Golden Eagles, who will host UCSD Sunday at 11:30 a.m., have fallen to No. 13 this week. CSULA, currently ranked second in the region, is led in points by senior midfielder Federico Cino (19) and junior forward Jason Swope (14). The Tritons have the upper-hand in the all-time series, holding a 10-5-1 advantage. In 2008 UCSD defeated the Golden Eagles 1-0 at home but lost 1-0 on the road.
The Tritons will finish their regular season with home matches against Cal State San Bernardino, Cal Poly Pomona, CSUDH and CSULA.
