SAN DIEGO — An early strike from Cesar Bahena powered No. 13 San Diego men's soccer (2-1-1, 0-0-0 WCC) to a thrilling 2-1 victory over crosstown rival San Diego State (2-2-0, 0-0-0 WAC) on Monday night, earning the Toreros their second victory of the season as they defeated SDSU under the lights at Snapdragon Stadium. 

USD held its 1-0 lead through halftime and all the way until the 77th minute when it extended the advantage to two after a well-placed through ball from Oliver Rhoades connected with Steven Ramirez in the box for a much needed insurance goal to put the Toreros up 2-0. San Diego State snuck a goal in with five minutes left to go in the match, but the USD defense held strong to secure the 2-1 win over the Aztecs. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Just three minutes into Monday evening's crosstown bout, Cesar Bahena cut inside just off the top of the 18 yard box and ripped a shot that found the far post bottom corner to give the Toreros the early 1-0 lead. 
• Close misses from Rhoades and Iain Wagner in the 16th and 20th minutes nearly extended the USD lead to two. 
• At the 22nd minute mark, SDSU fired a corner kick into the box that found its way into the back of the net, but after a VAR check a foul was called and the goal was disallowed to keep the score at 1-0. 
• Neither team registered a shot for the remainder of the half, keeping it 1-0 in favor of the Toreros at the half. 
• After a physical start to the second half, a beautiful through ball from Rhoades found Steven Ramirez inside the penalty box in the 77th minute with just the keeper to beat, and he knocked home the extra insurance goal for USD to make it 2-0. 
• With five minutes left to go, San Diego State scored a goal from inside the six yard box to get one goal back and make it 2-1, but the Toreros held for the final five minutes to secure the victory. 

TORERO TIDBITS

• Monday night's victory marks the third consecutive victory for the Toreros against San Diego State dating back to the 2023 season. 
• Both Bahena and Ramirez's goals were their first of the season. 
• Rhoades' assist was also his first of the season. 
• Making his return from injury, Vicente Ayala came off the Torero bench and played 49 minutes against the Aztecs on Monday.

CATCHING UP WITH THE TOREROS

• To view the post game press conference with head coach Brian Quinn, please click here.
• To view the post game press conference with Oliver Rhoades, please click here.
• To view the post game press conference with Steven Ramirez, please click here. 

UP NEXT
The Toreros will be back in action on Thursday night for their 2025 home opener, facing off against California Baptist at Torero Stadium. Kick-off against the Lancers is set for 7:00 p.m. with fans receiving a WCC championship T-shirt and a post match autograph session. To find links to the broadcast, live statistics or tickets for Thursday's match please click here.