IRVINE, Calif. — Conner Gardenhour and
Taj Eagleston scored 2 minutes, 21 seconds apart early in the second half Tuesday night, and San Diego men's soccer came from behind to beat UC Irvine 2-1 at Anteater Stadium. The Toreros are 4-1-1 and have won two in a row.
The Anteaters pulled in front in the ninth minute on a scramble in the box, and that goal held up through a first half in which San Diego managed three shots. Head coach
Brian Quinn made five changes at the break, and the Toreros were a different team when play resumed.
Eagleston forced a save in the 49th minute to signal what was coming. In the 53rd, a
Tony Ramirez cross broke to Gardenhour inside the box and the substitute forced his shot home through traffic for the equalizer, his first goal of the season. Two minutes later a set piece rolled through the six, Eagleston gathered it and rattled his first attempt off the post, then met the rebound with an acrobatic half volley to put San Diego ahead for good.
Eagleston played all 90 minutes and finished with a game-high five shots, two on goal and the game-winner, his second goal of 2026. Gardenhour needed one shot in his 45 minutes to produce his.
San Diego kept coming after taking the lead.
Matteo Salcedo,
Iain Wagner,
Steven Ramirez,
Tony Ramirez and Eagleston combined for seven more shots between the 59th and 68th minutes, and the Toreros finished with 11 of their 14 shots in the second half.
The closing stretch belonged to the defense. San Diego blocked UC Irvine attempts in the 81st and 87th minutes, and
Lucca Adams turned away the Anteaters' only other second-half look on frame in the 89th. Adams went the distance in goal, faced six shots and allowed one, moving to 4-1-1 on the season.
San Diego outshot UC Irvine 14-6 overall and 5-2 on target. Williams made three saves for the Anteaters, who fell to 2-2-1. Seventeen Toreros saw the field.
The win was San Diego's third in five road matches to open the season. Five of the Toreros' first six matches came away from Torero Stadium.
UP NEXT
San Diego returns home to face crosstown rival San Diego State on Sunday, Sept. 13. Kickoff at Torero Stadium is set for 5 p.m., with the match streaming on ESPN+.
