• Tournament Time
The UC San Diego women’s soccer team compiled a 14-2-2 regular season record before falling to San Francisco State in a penalty kick shootout in the semifinal round of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championships. The Tritons were awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Championships it was announced Monday, receiving the No. 3 seed in the West Region. UCSD will head to Hawaii to face-off once again with SFSU, the sixth seed, on Thursday at 10:00 p.m. at BYU-Hawaii’s Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park. The Gators were awarded the automatic bid from the CCAA after winning the conference tournament on November 7. The winner of the UCSD-SFSU match-up will advance to face No. 2 seed BYU-Hawaii on Saturday night at 10: 00 p.m. PST.
• The Other Side of the Tracks
The West Region of the NCAA Tournament is divided into two sub-regional tournaments; UCSD is competing in the aforementioned BYU-Hawaii Sub-Regional while No. 1 Seattle Pacific, No. 4 Cal State L.A. and No. 5 Montana State-Billings will battle in another mini-tournament at Seattle Pacific. CSULA faces-off with MSU on Thursday, with the winner facing the top-seeded Falcons on Saturday. The winner of the BYU-Hawaii Sub-Regional and the winner of the Seattle Pacific Sub-Regional will meet at the highest remaining seed’s home field to determine champion of the West Region. The West Region Champion will be one of eight teams advancing to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals on November 21.
• It’s That Time of Year
UCSD has qualified for the NCAA Tournament 23 out of the last 24 years and has won seven national titles during that span. The Tritons’ last national championship came in 2001, when UCSD won back-to-back titles in the program’s first two seasons at the Division II level, defeating Northern Kentucky 2-0 in 2000 and besting Christian Brothers by the same count a year later. Head coach Brian McManus led the Tritons to five national titles at the Division III level from 1987-1999.
• Time to Represent
UCSD was well-represented when the annual all-conference awards were announced last week. A total of seven Tritons were named to All-CCAA squads, highlighted by Annette Ilg who was named the CCAA’s Newcomer of the Year. Junior goalkeeper Kristin Armstrong, junior midfielder Anne Wethe and senior defender Lisa Bradley were all named All-CCAA First Team for the second consecutive season. Junior midfielder Shelby Wong and junior forward Sarah McTigue were selected to the All-CCAA Second Team, marking the second year in a row each has made that particular All-CCAA squad. Hayley Johnson took home honorable mention honors to complete the list of UCSD honorees.
• Playing the Field
UC San Diego played a total of four matches against squads that qualified for the 2010 NCAA Tournament, posting a record of 1-1-2 in those contests. The Tritons tied both meetings with No. 6 seed San Francisco State this season, eventually dropping a 4-3 decision to the Gators in a penalty kick shootout during the CCAA Championships on Nov. 5. UCSD split its regular season matches against No. 4 seed Cal State L.A. The Golden Eagles gave the Tritons their only home loss on the season, winning by a score of 3-1 on September 10. UCSD overtook CSULA, 1-1, in the rematch on October 10 in Los Angeles.
• Scouting the Gators
UCSD will face a familiar foe, San Francisco State, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Gators took home the 2010 CCAA Championship after posting a pair of shootout victories over UCSD and Cal State L.A. last week. SFSU battled UCSD to a 1-1 tie on November 5, overtaking the Tritons, 4-3, in penalty kicks. In the final, SFSU took a 1-1 draw into extra time with CSULA, coming out on top once again in penalty kicks, 3-2. Myriah Johnson and Michelle Spinner lead the Gators with six goals apiece on the season. Andrea Carey has dished out a team-high eight assists. Goalkeeper Annicia Jones has started all 20 of SFSU’s matches this season, posting a 0.56 goals against average while tallying 97 saves.
• Hey, Where We At?
The Tritons come into the NCAA Tournament in good form, especially when one evaluates UCSD’s most recent results. The squad has gone unbeaten in 13 of its last 14 contests, shutting-out nine teams while outscoring its opponents 23-5 within that time span. The team rode a 10-match win-streak into its CCAA semifinal bout with San Francisco State on November 5; however, the Gators would prevail 4-3 in penalty kicks to hand the Tritons their first loss since September 17. UCSD ended the 2010 regular season with five consecutive shutouts.
• He’s the McMan
UC San Diego head women’s soccer coach Brian McManus was named the coach of the Division III Women’s Soccer 25th Anniversary Team, it was announced by the NCAA on Nov. 2. McManus compiled a 230-28-19 record in 13 years at the Division III level while winning five national championships and nine regional titles. Former Triton standouts Carrie Peer (1992-95) and Eleanor “Ele” Johnson (1993-96) were also named to the team, earning spots on the 11-member player roster.
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