SAN DIEGO – No. 16 San Diego men's soccer, off to a 9-1-1 start (1-0 WCC), enters its most challenging tests on the road this season when it travels to UCLA and No. 9 Saint Mary's this Thursday and Sunday.
 
After sliding up seven spots to their highest ranking in more than six years, the Toreros will face the Bruins on Thursday (7 p.m.) and then the top-10 Gaels on Sunday (1 p.m.). USD, which is 4-0 on the road in 2019, has not lost a game since mid-September.
 
UCLA has not won in its last two efforts, tying Cal 3-3 this past Sunday and losing to current-No. 5 Stanford 1-0 on October 10. The Bruins are 3-2-2 at home and 1-3-1 in Pac-12 play.
 
The Toreros and Gaels, the only one-loss teams in the WCC, meet up for the top-16 matchup in Moraga to end the weekend. The Gaels have won their last three games and hold a 4-1 record at home.
 
Here is this week's Starting XI preview:
 
I - GAME INFO
at UCLA (5-5-2)
Thursday, October 17 | 7 p.m.
Wallis Annenberg Stadium
 
at #9 Saint Mary's (10-1-0, 1-0 WCC)
Sunday, October 20 | 1 p.m.
Saint Mary's Stadium
 
II - HOW TO WATCH
UCLA: Pac-12 Networks
Saint Mary's: WCC Network
 
III - HOW TO FOLLOW
Live stats are available here.
 
IV - SERIES HISTORY VS. UCLA
USD trails in the all-time series against UCLA, 8-24-4, but won the last meeting in 2017. The last win for the Toreros at UCLA was in 2012 (W, 5-2 on 11/18/12 in the NCAA Tournament Second Round).
 
V – SERIES HISTORY VS. SAINT MARY'S
USD leads the all-time series against Saint Mary's, 30-10-8. In last year's matchup, when the Gaels were ranked No. 4 in the country, the Toreros battled them to a 1-1 tie in San Diego. Each of the last two meetings have resulted in a draw, including the 2017 game in Moraga (2-2). USD is unbeaten in the last five meetings (3-0-2).
 
VI – NATIONALLY RANKED
For the third week in a row, the Toreros were ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll. This week, though, they moved up seven spots to No. 16, their highest ranking in that poll since the preseason rankings in 2013. In other polls, the Toreros were No. 13 in Top Drawer Soccer and No. 20 in College Soccer News.
 
VII – HOT STRETCH
The Toreros are unbeaten in their last five games, going 4-0-1 and outscoring their opponents 12-3. In each of the last two games, USD has scored four goals, its first back-to-back games of 4+ goals since 1999.
 
VIII – OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING
The Toreros have scored eight goals in their last two games, but the goal-scoring has been a season-long trend. USD has tallied 24 goals in 11 games, which is already eight more than last year's output (16 goals in 19 games). The Toreros' 24 goals are the most in a season since 2016 (26).
 
IX – BERRY GOOD
Already with a career-high 10 goals this season, senior Miguel Berry has capped his USD career in a big way this year. The Poway, Calif. product has three goals in the last two games, and four in the last four, to help him rank sixth in the country in total goals and fifth in goals per game (0.91) for the season. The goal production is only part of Berry's offensive impact, though, as he is also third in the country in points per game (2.36) and sixth in total points (26).
 
Berry enters the weekend as one of only four Toreros in school history with 30 career goals. He sits third on the all-time list.
 
CAREER GOALS – USD HISTORY
1. Guillermo Jara (1992-95) – 51
2. Ryan Coiner (1999-02) – 49
3. Miguel Berry (2016-current) – 31
 
X – STOUT BACKLINE
With Berry and seven other Toreros providing the goal-scoring, the USD backline and goalkeeper Matt Wiher have done their part to keep opponents off the board. The Toreros have surrendered just seven goals this season as Wiher's goals against average (0.619) is 12th best in the country. He has only had to make 27 saves – which are 146th in the country – as the backline has helped the Toreros register a shutout percentage of 63.6% - fifth-best in the nation.
 
XI – UP NEXT
Following the challenging stretch of road matches, the Toreros return home on October 26 to host WCC opponent Gonzaga (7 p.m.).