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. 

The Tritons went out for the second half with the objective of breaking the compact UCR team down. Having recognized how deep the UCR setup was, the Tritons made it a point to be more patient in their build-up, moving the ball generously from side to side in the hopes of finding quick forward passes to open spaces. Around the 60th-minute mark, Lucas Sherles tried to play a long diagonal ball from the halfway line to the back post of the UCR box. It was a little short, and a UCR center-back tried to clear the ball but ended up lobbing his own goalkeeper and scored on himself. Having gotten the lead, UCSD began exploiting more of the spaces that the UCR team left as they tried to find an equalizer. The Tritons missed a handful of good goal-scoring opportunities, but they managed to hold onto their slender lead and see out the game, resulting in a 1–0 victory for the Tritons. 

Dominance Without the Final Touch – The Tritons came pumped and ready for their Saturday game against CSU Long Beach. With Long Beach having beaten CSUN 6-1 earlier in the day, the Tritons knew they would need a victory to be guaranteed a place in the final. The Tritons established their recurring dominance over the ball shortly after kickoff and their passing proved difficult to defend for Long Beach. A couple of good opportunities opened up for UCSD but underwhelming form in front of the goal had the two teams at 0-0 at halftime.

The Tritons came out of halftime hungry for the opening goal, and the second half began just as the first had ended. Long Beach offered no attacking threat whatsoever, and they continued to absorb pressure. The continued dominance of the ball, precise passing, and some well-timed pressing scenarios put the Tritons through on goal a couple of times, but, as in the first half, the finishing touch was missing. With 5 minutes left to go, Joseph Asfari found himself facing the Long Beach backline, and he put his good dribbling to use as he made a quick shimmy to put himself through on goal. His last touch was slightly heavy leading to a 50-50 challenge with the goalkeeper. The ball bobbled among the Long Beach defenders and goalkeeper but UCSD’s Vismay Manoj threw his body into a sliding tackle to smash the ball into the net. UCSD closed out the match comfortably and went home with a deserved 1–0 victory, giving them a place in the final. 

Stress-Free Morning – The Tritons arrived at a glistening, dewy Rimac Field on Sunday morning set to take on CSU Northridge. With their place in the final guaranteed, UCSD knew the game was all about managing minutes and avoiding injuries in what would be an insignificant game for the Tritons standing in their group. UCSD came out gunning! Attacking positive play on both flanks set the tone for the entire match. The Tritons' new 3-4-3 formation looked like it was coming together by the 3rd game of this tournament. Arya Abolmaali, Nick Shor, Owen Riess, and Dayne Kovatchev were among the players who tested the CSUN goalkeeper. Late into the first half, UCSD finally prevailed with Kovatchev finding himself 5 yards outside the penalty area. His strike was blocked but the ball fell kindly for Riess who carefully fired his half-volley into the bottom left corner. UCSD took their 1–0 advantage to the break.

Confident in their ability to see the game out, the Tritons returned without letting up, keeping the attacking firepower going. With excellent possession and rock-solid defending (which was almost expected by this point in the tournament), UCSD looked unchallenged for much of the second half, but they were unlucky not to double their lead. With around 15 minutes left to play, a moment of brilliance from Nick Shor at the top of the penalty box saw him cut inside and then back outside to shift the ball onto his favored right foot, from where he then fired a precise strike into the left side netting. Elation among the squad and crowd for the great goal for the birthday boy capped off an excellent morning for the Tritons. The match ended with a comfortable, stress-free 2–0 win for UCSD.

Passing the Tournament’s Biggest Test Yet – The Tritons had no time to digest their successful morning as they returned to take on USC in the Triton Invitational 2025 Final on Sunday afternoon. This game would prove to be UCSD’s toughest challenge of the weekend with USC being the expected group winner from the other group. The Tritons came out fairly shaky with some nervous spells in possession early on. Their passing was not as sharp as it had been, and USC was making it difficult for the Tritons to keep the ball well in the USC half. The Tritons struggled to find the right spaces in the attacking third, leading to many attacks breaking down. Slowly they found some rhythm with a few opportunities looking promising for the Tritons. USC was the more physical side in the first half, but the Tritons withstood their blunt attacks and the two teams went into the half tied 0–0.

A shaky half from both sides continued seemingly into the second half with both sides poking at each other. As the second half wore on, the Tritons kept getting more dominant in the midfield. Unfortunately, the Tritons’ developing dominance in the midfield did not translate to goals until, about 25 minutes into the second half, when Lucas Venetoulias won the ball back and lofted a cross which found the head of the leaping Nick Shor; Shor managed to get enough on it to steer it away from the on-rushing goalkeeper and into the back of the net. The birthday boy cemented himself as the day’s hero. A nerve-wracking final 15 minutes ensued, with the Tritons soaking up more pressure put on them by the USC; a tense penalty claim went the way of the Tritons and was not called, and the Tritons were thoroughly relieved to hear the final whistle. The 1–0 triumph over USC made the Tritons the winners of the 2025 UCSD Triton Invitational and ended what was a fantastic weekend of great soccer.