SAN DIEGO – Returning home following their thrilling second round victory over Duke, the San Diego men's soccer program (15-2-2, 7-1 WCC) is back in action on Sunday, Dec. 1 at 5:00 p.m. as they will host Vermont (13-2-5, 4-1-2 America East) in the Third Round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Sunday night's game will be the first ever meeting between the Toreros and Catamounts in each program's history. San Diego will be looking to advance to the Quarterfinals for the third time in school history and for the first time since the 2012 season.
LAST TIME OUT
- Hitting the road for the first time this postseason, San Diego bested the Duke Blue Devils by a 1-0 score at Koskinen Stadium during the team's Second Round NCAA Tournament matchup last Sunday in Durham.
- It was a scoreless defensive battle for most of the afternoon until the 83rd minute when Josh Martinez delivered a perfect ball off a corner kick that ended with a Jack Sandmeyer header for the game-winning goal.
- Starting in goal for USD, Donovan Parisian earned his eighth clean sheet and once again matched his season and career-high with seven saves against the Blue Devils on the road.
- The Toreros were the first and last opponent for Duke in 2024 as the two teams tied 2-all at Torero Stadium back in August before San Diego advanced in the tournament last Sunday.
SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS
- Vermont is playing in the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season as they defeated Iona at home 5-0 in the First Round. Heading out on the road facing #7 Hofstra, the Catamounts earned the 2-1 road victory to punch their ticket to the West Coast.
- Leading the Catamounts offense this season has been the stellar play of redshirt senior forward Yaniv Bazini, who's scored 11 goals while starting in all 20 of Vermont's games this season.
- In the cage, freshman Niklas Herceg has started 12 times for the Catamounts including both NCAA Tournament matches when he recorded four saves and allowed just one goal in the victory over Hofstra.
FINAL NOTES
- San Diego is seeking their third ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals, as well as their first appearance since the 2012 season.
- USD's defense has been among the stingiest in the country as they have allowed just four total goals since the start of October with six total cleans sheets in that timeframe.
- Playing some of his best games of the season, Parisian has recorded a shutout in six of his last seven games for a .787 save percentage on the season.
- The Toreros have yet to trail at halftime in any match this season, and are 8-0-1 when leading at the break.
- Four San Diego student-athletes were All-WCC First Team Selections: Cesar Bahena, Samy Kanaan, Donovan Parisian and Ethan Warne. Jack Sandmeyer was also named to the All-WCC Second Team.
- After making the All-Freshman team last season, both Steven Ramirez and Oliver Rhoades were picked as All-WCC Honorable Mentions.
- Excelling in their first collegiate seasons, both Mathias Bauer and Luca Fava were picked to the All-WCC Freshman Team to wrap up USD's 2024 conference awards.
- Working hard in the classroom as well, Vicente Ayala and Josh Martinez were picked to the All-WCC Academic Team on Friday morning.
To stay up to date with Toreros men's soccer, follow the team on Instagram & Twitter by searching "USDmsoccer".
