PORTLAND, Ore. – Following a dominant performance where they scored their most goals in a conference match in nearly 30 years, the No. 12 San Diego Men's Soccer (7-1-3, 1-0-1 WCC) is primed to compete in a battle of the titans Friday evening against No. 6 Portland (8-0-2, 1-0-1, WCC) on October 10 at 7:00 p.m. from Merlo Field. 

Both teams currently sit tied for second place in the conference standings as Friday's match will have numerous ramifications for the Toreros as they seek their fourth straight conference crown. Despite USD leading the all-time series by a 23-21-8 mark, the Pilots have emerged victorious in the previous two meetings. 

LAST TIME OUT: TOREROS DOMINATE SAN FRANCISCO IN 5-1 ROUTE AT TORERO STADIUM

• San Diego bounced back in a big way from a scoreless draw at Santa Clara in the WCC opener by defeating USF 5-1 with all five goals scored before the 60 minute mark in a dominant offensive display. 
• USD out shot a quality Dons squad by a 16-10 margin as they posted an impressive 11 shots on target as they put home five goals against a San Francisco squad that had allowed just six goals through their first eight matches of the season. 
• The Torero offense was headlined by the stellar play of Cesar Bahena as he recorded a brace with a pair of second half goals. Steven Ramirez, Iain Wagner and Josh Martinez each found the back of the net as well in the home victory. Playing a key role off of the team's bench, Taj Eagleston recorded a pair of assists for his first career multi-assist game. 
• San Diego's five goals was the most the team has scored in a WCC match since they defeated Gonzaga 4-0 at home on November 3, 1995. 

BATTLE OF THE KEEPERS

• USD's sophomore goalkeeper Lucca Adams has been stellar in the cage for the Toreros this season as he currently leads the conference in goals against average (0.34) and ranks fourth in save percentage (.714). 
• Adams was honored by the WCC for his standout play as he recorded clean sheets against then No. 20 UC Irvine and UC San Diego as he was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Week. 
• The Toreros will have their hands full trying to score on Portland's goalkeeper Miguel-Angel Hernandez who has posted six clean sheets this season and is the current WCC leader in save percentage (.789). Hernandez won back-to-back WCC Defensive Player of the Week awards this season on September 8 and 15. 

ROAD TESTED 

• San Diego is 2-1-1 away from home thus far in 2025, with the lone loss coming in the first match of the season at then No. 15 Duke. After that USD tied with No. 20 Furman 0-0, beat then No. 21 Denver 3-2 and in-city rivals San Diego State 2-1 .
• USD began the 2025 conference season with a scoreless draw against Santa Clara on September 27 which marked the Toreros' first draw in a conference match since midway through the 2023 season. 
• The Toreros went undefeated on the road during the 2024 season which included a win in the second round of the NCAA Tournament over Duke as USD has thrived playing across the country at some of the toughest venues. 

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST PORTLAND

• Friday night's event in Portland will be the 53rd all-time matchup between the two programs with San Diego holding the slight edge at 23-21-8 despite the Pilots emerging victorious the last two seasons.
• The two teams faced off last season in San Diego as the then third-ranked Toreros fell 2-0 to the Pilots as Portland received second half goals from Nick Fernandez and Joe Highfield as well as a clean sheet from Hernandez. 
• In the recent history of the program's the team with the lower ranking has emerged victorious as USD's last victory over Portland came during the 2022 season when the Toreros beat then No. 7 Portland by a 4-1 margin to take over first place in the conference standings.