MEN'S SOCCER

President JAKE HONMA  | jhonma@ucsd.edu
Treasurer PEDRO TEIXEIRA  | pteixeira@ucsd.edu
Vice President DAYNE KOVATCHEV  | dkovatchev@ucsd.edu

Team Email | ucsdmcs@gmail.com
Instagram | @ucsdclubsoccer
Facebook | @ucsdsoccerclub

Want to keep playing competitive, high-level soccer in college and still have time for your school and social life? Then UC San Diego Club Soccer is right for you!

We are a student-run Sports Club in the UC San Diego Recreation department competing in the SoCal conference of the West Coast Soccer Association Premier Division, now organized and run by US College Club Soccer (USCCS). Representing UC San Diego, we play league matches against teams like San Diego State, UC Los Angeles, University of San Diego, Cal Poly SLO, and more. We also play in several other tournaments over the course of the year, such as NIRSA Regionals, Aztec Cup, and the Triton Invitational (which we hosted last year with the Women’s Club Soccer team).

Our recent accolades include NIRSA Open Division National Champions, NIRSA Regional VI Champions, WCSA Playoff Finalists, and Aztec Cup Champions.

The busiest part of the season is during the Fall Quarter, where we will have league games mixed in with Aztec Cup and, subject to qualification, NIRSA Regionals and NIRSA Nationals. The Winter Quarter usually consists of league games and our Triton Invitational, while the focus of the Spring Quarter is WCSA Playoffs in April.

We train two or three times during the week in the evenings, and our competitions mostly take place on the weekends. Consistent participation is expected, as are annual player fees that recently have been about $500 (assistance with these fees is available, if need be). We tend to carry around 25 or so players on our roster and like to have a mix of all years (graduate students are welcome too).

If all of this sounds good to you, we typically hold tryouts during Week 0 (i.e., Welcome Week) of the Fall Quarter. More information about tryouts will be posted on our team website as well as on our social media. Feel free to contact the team leaders at the team emails above with any further questions or comments.

3/1/25 - The Tritons Show a Composed Victory over Cal Poly Pomona

The Tritons took on Cal Poly Pomona on their home turf, hoping to bounce back from what was a disappointing loss last weekend against city rivals SDSU. UCSD had previously played against Pomona in last quarter’s Aztec Cup, and despite playing poorly, UCSD managed to squeak out a 2-1 victory late. The Tritons continued using the more attacking 3-4-3 formation they had been using since the start of the calendar year. Read More>>

1/31/25 - Triton Invitational Tournament

Rocky Start as Tournament Hosts – The UCSD Men’s Club Soccer team played their first game of the Triton Invitational Tournament on Friday afternoon against a UC Riverside team that was determined to make an upset. In the first half, the team came out prepared to go against a good team, with a unique defensive structure. It was a difficult half as the Tritons found it difficult to break down the solid defensive shape UCR had. The UCR squad had set up deep and compact defensive lines but offered little going forward other than a couple of hopeful long balls down the wings. The two teams went into halftime in a 0-0 tie. Read More>>

1/25/25 - The Tritons Get Back to Winning Ways to Kickoff 2025!

On Saturday January 26, the Tritons returned for the second half of their league season. The original season restart was meant to be played at UCLA two weekends prior, but the devastating North Los Angeles fires meant the match had to be rescheduled. The Tritons took on UC Irvine away from home and arrived prepared, feeling confident in their skills following three weeks of intense post-winter break training before the match. The Tritons were keen to try out their new formation choice, opting to switch from the classic 4-3-3 to a more attacking 3-4-3 layout. Read More>>

11/20/24 - Tritons Head to Texas After a 7-year Nationals Drought

Early Sunrise and Freezing Temperatures – UCSD headed to Round Rock, Texas to participate in the 2024 NIRSA National Championships after a seven-year absence. The Tritons' first opponent was UCF, who had posted an impressive defensive record of one goal conceded in thirteen games coming into the tournament. While this might have seemed like a difficult matchup for the Tritons, they were hopeful they could make an early morning statement, and, importantly, they knew they were capable of doing exactly that. The 8:00am kickoff served as one additional obstacle for the Tritons, who would be dealing with a 2-hour time change having travelled halfway across the country. Read More>>

9/22/24 - Tritons Use Preseason to Win Despite Some Shaky Moments

UCSD hosted LMU on a Sunday afternoon at Muir Field. The matchup was a fresh encounter, as the two teams hadn’t faced each other in years. This meant both sides entered the game uncertain of what to expect. UCSD's previous performance against San Marcos had provided valuable insight into areas needing improvement, helping them prepare for this contest. With a total of 19 players available, this game served as a crucial test to identify the starting eleven ahead of their first league game against CSUN in two weeks. Read More>>

10/11/24 - UCSD Men’s Soccer Aztec Cup

The Cage Strikes Again – The Tritons would open up their Aztec Cup tournament facing off against UC Santa Barbara in the iconic Cage Field. Previous performances in the Cage have shown that the field makes it difficult for teams to play, so the Tritons knew it would be an ugly and luck-based game.

The game would be underway and very early the conditions of the field made it difficult for the Tritons to play their game. The Tritons were unable to play out of the back and many players struggled to find any grip on the pitch. Suddenly a ball was whipped across the box, which was cleared away by the Tritons. The Gauchos would recover the ball off an unexpected bounce and found themselves in the box, and a UCSB attacker didn’t think twice about striking the ball and found the back of the net. The Tritons would be trailing 0–1, until the Gauchos were able to convert from a corner kick off a deflected touch from UCSD, giving UCSB a 0–2 lead. The half would end 0-2, and the Tritons knew that a comeback was necessary. Read More>>

4/12-14/24 - UCSD title hopes thwarted as WCSA playoffs are cut short by rain

UCSD is coming into playoffs with an incredible record of being undefeated in 2024, along with two consecutive clean sheets. Although the league standings didn’t show it, UCSD was a clear favorite to win the tournament. The first game of the tournament would be against Santa Clara University who had an incredible record in their league and were actually league champions. This was well known amongst the team, so they were not underestimating Santa Clara whatsoever. This matchup would be seen as the most important game of the group and UCSD’s life in the playoffs could either be cut early or extended by the outcome of this game. Read More>>

MEN'S SOCCER

NEWS AND RESULTS

3/8/26 - Tritons Triumph in Gritty Comeback Against Aztecs

3/1/26 - Coming Up Short: UCSD Loses to Cal Poly SLO

2/22/26 - Second-Half Surge: UCSD Claims Victory in San Diego Derby

2/14/26 - UCSD 6, UCI 1: Shorthanded Tritons Take Home 3 Points

1/30-2/1/26 - UCSD Triton Invitational

11/9/25 - Tritons Secure Dominant 2-0 Victory Over UCSB

10/24-26/25 - UC San Diego Men’s Deep Run in NIRSA Regionals

10/18/25 - Short-Handed Tritons Show Fight in 4–1 Loss at UCLA

10/10/25 - UCSD Men’s Soccer Aztec Cup

10/5/25 - A Dominant Display: UCSD Triumphs 4-0 Over UC Irvine

9/28/25 - Bright Debuts, Tough Loss: Tritons Slip to Pomona

4/11/25 - Playoff Heartbreak for UCSD as Cal Poly SLO Clinches WCSA Title with 2-0 Victory

4/6/25 - Tritons Continue to Push for Playoffs with Draw Against USD

3/9/25 - Tritons Not at Their Best in Loss to UC Santa Barbara

3/2/25 - The Tritons Snatch Victory at the Death Away at UCLA!

3/1/25 - The Tritons Show a Composed Victory over Cal Poly Pomona

2/22/25 - City Derby Ends in Defeat for the Tritons

1/31/25 - Triton Invitational Tournament

1/25/25 - The Tritons Get Back to Winning Ways to Kickoff 2025!

11/20/24 - Tritons Head to Texas After a 7-year Nationals Drought

11/9/24 - Statement win over Cal Poly SLO as the Tritons get ready for Nationals

10/24/24 - UCSD Crowned Regional Champs, Headed Back to Nationals After 7-Year Drought.

10/20/24 - Tritons Continue Late Comebacks Despite Unfavorable Conditions

10/5/24 - Tritons Off to a Hot Start with Dominant Win Over CSUN

9/22/24 - Tritons Use Preseason to Win Despite Some Shaky Moments

9/15/24 - UCSD Showcases Early Signs of Success in Preseason Opener

10/11/24 - UCSD Men’s Soccer Aztec Cup

4/12-14/24 - UCSD title hopes thwarted as WCSA playoffs are cut short by rain

3/2/24 - Tritons Triumph in 5-0 win vs UCR

2/12/24 - UCSD back after 4-1 triumph vs CSUN

2/10/24 - Late Game Drama as Tritons Drop Points for Second Week in a Row in Tie vs USD

2/3/24 - Tritons Tie 2-2 to UCI in First Game of the New Year