When Christian Soares tucked away a penalty kick in the 85th minute, it looked for a brief moment that Cougar men's soccer was going to pick up an upset win over UCSD.  But it was not to be, as UCSD rallied for the equalizer just a minute and a half later, and the game winner a few minutes after that.  The Tritons won the game 2-1.

CSUSM is now 1-3 on the season.

It was an outstanding effort by the Cougar men.  They played inspired soccer, controlling the game from nearly whistle to whistle.

"We were terrific," commented Assistant Coach Bobby Renneisen.  "We owned the game."

CSUSM won the statistical battle across the board, putting more shots on goal and earning more corner kicks.   The game went scoreless into halftime, and after Chris Dunckel was stopped on a point-blank attempt in the box, continued to be deadlocked deep into the second half.

But in the 85th minute, Brandon Zuniga drew a foul in the box, giving the Cougars a penalty kick opportunity.  Soares drove it home, finally breaking the tie and putting CSUSM up 1-0.

The lead would be short-lived, however.  In the 87th minute, UCSD earned a seemingly innocuous free kick near midfield.  But it quickly became disastrous for the Cougars, as the ball was played into the box, and in the ensuing scramble was knocked in by Aaron McDowell.  In the 90th minute, another set piece would prove lethal for the cougars, as Josh Jackson played in a free kick from 30 yards out, and Jared Kukura found the back of the net on a clean header.

Set pieces have been the Cougars' kryptonite so far this season.  Including the exhibition game against Cal Baptist, 7 of the 8 goals CSUSM has allowed this fall have came off of them.

Despite the heartbreak, it was still very much an encouraging effort from the Cougars.

"We're doing all the right things," noted Renneisen.  "Right now we're just learning hard lessons early on."

The situation is reminiscent of last year's women's soccer team, who started the season 1-4-1 despite playing considerably better than they had the previous year.  That team would go on to win a playoff game.

It's only a matter of time before this year's men's team achieves similar success.  They'll be in action at home next Wednesday vs. Master's College.