LA JOLLA, Calif. - Yankees and Red Sox. Michigan and Ohio State. North Carolina and Duke. Toros and Tritons? While the women's soccer rivalry between UC San Diego and Cal State Dominguez Hills is not analogous with the high-profile matchups in professional sports or at the Division I level, the Tritons versus Toros billing certainly carries weight within the California Collegiate Athletic Association. With the all-time series tally at 16-16-4, it is one of the most exciting matchups in the conference.

The two squads have met six times in the CCAA Tournament and twice in the first round of the NCAA National Championships. In all of the 36 meetings between UCSD and CSUDH, Friday's 7 p.m. game, with the winner to be crowned as the West Region champion and awarded a spot in the NCAA quarterfinal round, will be just the second time the Tritons and Toros have gone head-to-head at the Sweet 16 level. The other occurrence, 2003's regional title match, played out to a 0-0 draw through regulation and two overtimes before the Tritons advanced on penalty kicks.

The UCSD squad has played in two shootouts since that 2003 match. In 2008 the Tritons moved to the CCAA title match with a 5-4 penalty kick decision against San Francisco State. In the same round of the conference tournament this year, the Toros advanced past the Tritons with a 5-3 shootout after the teams played to a 1-1 draw.

UCSD and CSUDH squared off twice in the 2009 regular season as the two squads traded 2-1 road wins. Through the two regular season contests and the CCAA Tournament match, Tritons' sophomore midfielder and Daktronics All-West Region First Team honoree Anne Wethe has totaled one goal and two assists. On the Toros' side, Jessica Murphy has knocked in two scores. In this Friday's match the CSUDH squad will be without Murphy, who received a red card in the 80th minute of Sunday's second-round contest with Cal State L.A.

In the 2009 season, the Tritons have compiled a home record of 10-3. The 10 victories in La Jolla are the most for a UCSD squad since 2006, when the Tritons went 11-0-1 at home. This year, UCSD reeled off seven consecutive home wins between Sept. 13 and Oct. 25, during the heart of the CCAA schedule. In that span of matches the Tritons allowed just one score and the streak included four 1-0 decisions, against Sonoma State, Cal State East Bay, Cal State San Bernardino and Cal Poly Pomona. More importantly, the UCSD squad is 12-1 all-time in NCAA D-II postseason matches at Triton Soccer Field.

Before the UCSD and CSUDH go toe-to-toe at 7 p.m. Friday, the top two teams of the South Central will play on Triton Soccer Field at 4:30 p.m. West Texas A&M and St. Edward's, playing to decide their regional title, were ranked 13th and 22nd respectively in the final regular season National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll. The winners of the West and South Central regions will return to the La Jolla pitch Sunday at 12 p.m. for quarterfinal action. Sunday's victor earns a spot in the D-II Final Four, to be held at University of Tampa's Pepin Stadium from Dec. 3-5.