PORTLAND, Ore. — No. 19 San Diego men’s soccer opens the inaugural WCC Men’s Soccer Tournament on Wednesday, facing No. 3 seed Denver in a 2 p.m. PT semifinal at Merlo Field. The second-seeded Toreros (10-4-3, 5-1-2 WCC) closed the regular season with four straight league wins, capped by a 4-0 Senior Night win over Saint Mary’s on Nov. 6. Denver (5-7-4, 4-1-3 WCC) beat Seattle U 2-0 the same night to claim the No. 3 seed, and the teams played to a 0-0 draw in San Diego on Sept. 26. The winner meets top seed Portland or No. 4 seed San Francisco in Saturday’s championship match at 7 p.m. PT, with the WCC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line. The match streams live on ESPN+, and live stats are available at USDToreros.com.
LAST TIME OUT
• San Diego beat Saint Mary’s 4-0 on Senior Night on Nov. 6 at Torero Stadium, its fourth straight league win, to lock up the No. 2 seed in the inaugural WCC Tournament. The Toreros finished the regular season 10-4-3 overall and 5-1-2 in league play, and the Gaels fell to 2-10-6 and 0-5-3.
• After a scoreless first half, Iain Wagner broke through in the 59th minute. Elijah Zelkind passed inside from the right flank to Taj Eagleston, who played it square to Wagner on the edge of the 18-yard box, and Wagner touched past a defender and slotted a left-footed finish into the bottom right corner for the game-winner.
• Less than three minutes later, the goalkeeper couldn’t hold Zelkind’s cross from near the end line, and Devin Zachry hit the rebound first-time into the bottom left corner from inside the 6-yard box.
• Steven Ramirez forced an own goal in the 73rd minute, settling a Devin Dillon cross and firing a shot that the goalkeeper tipped onto the crossbar before it came down off him and over the line. Samy Kanaan pounced on a loose ball in the box in the 86th minute and finished low from 8 yards for his first goal of 2026.
• San Diego outshot the Gaels 23-10 and 8-4 on target and held 56% of possession. Wagner led all players with five shots, and Zelkind’s two assists earned him WCC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
• Lucca Adams made four saves, the last in the 89th minute, for his third clean sheet of the season and his 10th win.
• The four-goal margin was San Diego’s largest of the season. Twenty-one Toreros saw action, and four of the seven seniors honored before kickoff started: Ethan McNaughton, Steven Ramirez, Oliver Rhoades and Elijah Zelkind.
• The win was Brian Quinn‘s 81st as San Diego’s head coach and the Toreros’ fourth straight over Saint Mary’s, pushing their lead in the all-time series to 35-12-10.
SEVEN TOREROS EARN ALL-WCC HONORS
• Taj Eagleston, Tobias Polz and Steven Ramirez were named to the All-WCC First Team on Tuesday, leading seven San Diego selections. Iain Wagner made the Second Team, Matteo Salcedo the All-Freshman Team, and Lucca Adams and Oliver Rhoades earned honorable mention.
• San Diego’s three first-team picks were second only to Portland’s five. The Pilots also won five of the league’s six individual awards, including Coach of the Year for Nick Carlin-Voigt.
• Ramirez has earned All-WCC honors in all four of his seasons, climbing from the All-Freshman Team in 2023 to honorable mention in 2024, the Second Team in 2025 and the First Team this fall. It is the first All-WCC honor for Eagleston and Polz.
• Wagner adds Second Team honors to the First Team nod he earned in 2025. He was also named to the WCC All-Academic Team for the second straight season on Monday, and 10 more Toreros earned All-Academic honorable mention.
• Denver had three all-conference picks: Will King and Luke Schultz on the First Team and Erik Collins on the Second Team. Four Pioneers made the All-Freshman Team, including goalkeeper Alex Hohl.
• San Diego was picked second in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll, behind Portland and ahead of Denver, and the three finished in that order.
2026 WCC WEEKLY HONORS
• Steven Ramirez, Offensive Player of the Week (Aug. 24)
• Taj Eagleston, Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 14)
• Luca Fava, Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 14)
• Elijah Zelkind, Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 9)
THE SERIES WITH DENVER
• Wednesday is the sixth all-time meeting between San Diego and Denver and their second in the postseason. The series is even at 2-2-1, and the Toreros have outscored the Pioneers 10-5.
• The teams played to a 0-0 draw in the WCC opener for both on Sept. 26 at Torero Stadium. San Diego outshot Denver 16-6 and 6-0 on target, and Lucca Adams kept his first clean sheet of the season without needing to make a save. Iain Wagner led all players with five shots, and Pioneers freshman goalkeeper Alex Hohl made six saves.
• San Diego won the previous meeting 3-2 at Denver on Aug. 28, 2025, after a 55-minute lightning delay. Simon Duus Muller converted two penalties, and Owen Walz equalized 12 seconds before halftime off assists from Devin Dillon and Godwin Antwi. Will King and Erik Collins, both 2026 All-WCC picks, scored for Denver.
• Denver won the only previous postseason meeting, 1-0 in overtime in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament in Denver, on Kengo Ohira’s 93rd-minute goal. San Diego, making its first NCAA appearance since 2014, played the final 53 minutes with 10 men. Kevin Pena, then a freshman, is the only current Torero who played in that match.
• Wednesday is the second neutral-site meeting. Denver won the first, 2-1 in Albuquerque, N.M., on Sept. 6, 2015. San Diego won the first meeting in the series 6-0 in San Diego on Sept. 27, 1998.
• Denver is the first opponent San Diego will face twice this season. Brian Quinn is 1-1-1 against the Pioneers.
THE INAUGURAL WCC TOURNAMENT
• San Diego is the No. 2 seed in the first West Coast Conference Men’s Soccer Championship, a four-team tournament hosted by regular-season champion Portland at Merlo Field. The champion earns the WCC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
• The Toreros and No. 3 seed Denver open the tournament at 2 p.m. PT Wednesday. Top seed Portland, No. 6 in this week’s coaches poll, meets No. 4 seed San Francisco at 7 p.m. PT, and the championship match is Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. PT.
• San Diego clinched the No. 2 seed by closing the regular season with four straight league wins, outscoring Pacific, Santa Clara, Seattle U and Saint Mary’s 14-3. The Toreros finished with 17 points, seven behind Portland, which became the first team in WCC history to go 8-0-0.
• San Diego drew with both Denver (0-0) and San Francisco (2-2) in the regular season and lost 5-4 to Portland at Torero Stadium on Oct. 10. It went 5-0-0 against the rest of the league.
• The Toreros’ last match at Merlo Field was a 2-1 loss to No. 6 Portland on Oct. 10, 2025. Wednesday is Denver’s fourth trip to Portland in two seasons, including a 3-2 loss at Merlo Field on Oct. 17 and a penalty-kick loss there in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
• San Diego is chasing its fifth straight NCAA Tournament berth. The NCAA selection show is Monday, Nov. 16.
WHERE THE TOREROS STAND
• San Diego climbed six spots to No. 19 in this week’s United Soccer Coaches Top 25, its second straight week in the poll.
• The Toreros returned to the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 this week at No. 23.
• USD opened the season at No. 18 in the coaches poll and climbed to No. 2 on Aug. 25, the highest the program has ever appeared in that poll.
• The Toreros reached No. 1 in the Top Drawer Soccer Division I Top 25 on Aug. 24, the first time the program has held the top spot in a national poll.
• San Diego’s previous best in either poll was No. 3, reached in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 on Nov. 5, 2024, at 12-1-2.
• Four 2026 opponents are in this week’s coaches poll: No. 6 Portland, No. 11 Washington, No. 14 Kansas City and No. 18 UCLA. San Diego beat Washington 2-1 in the opener and lost to the other three.
THROUGH 17 MATCHES
• San Diego has scored 35 goals on 274 shots, 99 of them on target, and has outshot its opponents 274-180 overall and 99-60 on frame.
• The Toreros are averaging 2.06 goals per match and have allowed exactly one goal in 10 of their 17 matches. The exceptions are shutouts of Denver, Pacific and Saint Mary’s, the 2-2 draw at San Francisco, the 5-4 loss to Portland, the 3-1 loss at UCLA and the 4-2 win at Seattle U.
• Twenty-three of San Diego’s 35 goals have come after halftime, including all four against Saint Mary’s.
• Ramirez leads the team with nine goals and 21 points, and Eagleston has six goals and 15 points. The two have combined for 15 of the Toreros’ 35 goals.
• Eagleston has four of the team’s 10 game-winning goals, Devin Dillon and Ramirez have two each, and Luca Fava and Iain Wagner have one apiece. Wagner has four goals; Dillon, Noah James, Kevin Pena, Oliver Rhoades and Devin Zachry have two apiece; and Fava, Conner Gardenhour, Samy Kanaan, Ethan McNaughton and Elijah Zelkind have one each, giving San Diego 13 different goal scorers.
• Matteo Salcedo leads the team with five assists, Wagner has four, Eagleston, Fava, Ramirez and Rhoades have three each, and Mathias Bauer, Kanaan, Pena and Zelkind have two each. Fourteen players have recorded the 33 Torero assists.
• Nineteen different Toreros have recorded at least one point in 2026, and 24 have seen action.
• Five Toreros have started all 17 matches: Lucca Adams, Eagleston, Ramirez, Rhoades and Wagner.
• San Diego is 3-for-3 on penalty kicks this season, all converted by Ramirez, and opponents are 2-for-2.
• Adams is 10-4-3 in goal with 38 saves and 22 goals allowed across 17 starts and 1,530 minutes, a .633 save percentage, a 1.29 goals-against average and three shutouts.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
#1 LUCCA ADAMS | RS SOPHOMORE | GOALKEEPER | SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL | CALIFORNIA CONNECTIONS ACADEMY | UCLA
Through 17 Matches (2026)
• Has started all 17 matches and played all 1,530 minutes in goal
• 10-4-3 with 38 saves against 22 goals allowed, a .633 save percentage and a 1.29 goals-against average
• Named All-WCC honorable mention on Tuesday
• Made four saves against Saint Mary’s, three of them after halftime, including an 89th-minute stop that preserved his third clean sheet of the season
• Kept a clean sheet without needing to make a save in the Sept. 26 draw with Denver, when the Pioneers put none of their six shots on target
• Has conceded exactly one goal in 10 of the 17 matches, coming within 14 seconds of a clean sheet against San Diego State and five seconds against Santa Clara
• Made a career-high eight saves at San Francisco, five of them before halftime, doubling his previous best of four
• Has three clean sheets this season, against Denver, at Pacific and against Saint Mary’s, and 11 in his career
• Is 20-6-5 in 31 career starts
• Posted a program-record 0.58 goals-against average and eight shutouts in 2025, when he was named WCC Goalkeeper of the Year
#7 OLIVER RHOADES | SENIOR | MIDFIELDER | HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIF. | CALIFORNIA CONNECTIONS ACADEMY
Through 17 Matches (2026)
• Has started all 17 matches and logged 1,163 minutes
• Named All-WCC honorable mention on Tuesday for the second time, after also making the list as a sophomore in 2024
• Played 79 minutes on Senior Night against Saint Mary’s and put one of his two shots on target
• Has seven points this season on two goals and three assists, and has put 11 of his 22 shots on target
• Set up Steven Ramirez’s goals in road wins at LMU and Seattle U
• Scored San Diego’s goal at UCLA in the 67th minute, finishing a Matteo Salcedo assist
• Scored and assisted against Portland, equalizing in the eighth minute with a first-time left-footer off a rebound from 16 yards and combining with Lucien Wa Bwanda on the move that produced Kevin Pena’s second goal
• Played 65 minutes in the Sept. 26 draw with Denver and started San Diego’s 3-2 win at Denver in 2025
• Has seven goals and 11 assists in 70 career appearances
#8 TAJ EAGLESTON | JUNIOR | MIDFIELDER | HERMOSA BEACH, CALIF. | CALIFORNIA CONNECTIONS ACADEMY
Through 17 Matches (2026)
• Has started all 17 matches and logged 1,499 minutes, second only to goalkeeper Lucca Adams
• Named to the All-WCC First Team on Tuesday, the first all-conference honor of his career
• Assisted Iain Wagner’s 59th-minute game-winner against Saint Mary’s with a square pass on the edge of the 18-yard box
• Ranks second on the team with six goals and 15 points this season and third with 41 shots and 14 on target
• Leads the Toreros with four game-winning goals this season, and all six of his goals have come in wins
• Has scored the winning goal in four of San Diego’s last seven victories: at UC Irvine (Sept. 8), against San Diego State (Sept. 13), at LMU (Sept. 30) and at Pacific (Oct. 17)
• Scored and assisted at Pacific for a season-high three points, opening the scoring in the 14th minute and setting up Iain Wagner’s 88th-minute goal
• Has appeared on Top Drawer Soccer’s weekly Player of the Year Leaderboard this season
• Named WCC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 14 after scoring the game-winner in 2-1 wins at UC Irvine and against San Diego State
• Opened the scoring in the 11th minute at Washington, finishing a Steven Ramirez assist for the first goal of his USD career; all six of his career goals have come this season
• Made his first collegiate start in San Diego’s 3-2 win at Denver on Aug. 28, 2025, and played all 90 minutes of the Sept. 26 draw with the Pioneers
#9 STEVEN RAMIREZ | SENIOR | FORWARD | GARDEN GROVE, CALIF. | VIRTUAL LEARNING ACADEMY
Through 17 Matches (2026)
• Has started all 17 matches and logged 1,262 minutes
• Named to the All-WCC First Team on Tuesday, his fourth all-conference honor in four seasons
• Leads the Toreros with nine goals, 21 points and 50 shots this season, and shares the team lead with 17 shots on target
• Forced the own goal that made it 3-0 against Saint Mary’s, settling a Devin Dillon cross and firing a shot the goalkeeper tipped onto the crossbar
• His nine goals and 21 points are career highs, topping the eight goals and 17 points he had in 2025
• Has 22 career goals: one as a freshman in 2023, four in 2024, eight in 2025 and nine this season
• Is 3-for-3 on penalty kicks this season, at UC Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Pacific
• Had two goals and an assist at Seattle U for a season-high five points, scoring the game-winner 75 seconds into the second half
• Scored twice in a span of 91 seconds against Liberty, in the 62nd and 64th minutes, putting San Diego ahead for good in a 3-1 comeback win
• Named WCC Offensive Player of the Week on Aug. 24, the first conference weekly award of his career
• Took four shots in 68 minutes in the Sept. 26 draw with Denver
#10 SAMY KANAAN | GRADUATE | FORWARD | SAN DIEGO, CALIF. | RANCHO BERNARDO
Through 17 Matches (2026)
• Has appeared in 13 matches with nine starts, totaling 613 minutes
• Scored his first goal of 2026 in the 86th minute against Saint Mary’s, pouncing on a loose ball in the box and finishing low from 8 yards
• Has four points this season on a goal and two assists, setting up Steven Ramirez’s 22nd-minute goal at Seattle U and Taj Eagleston’s game-winner against San Diego State off the bench
• Has 17 shots this season, five of them on target
• Started both meetings with Denver over the last two seasons and put a shot on target in each
• Has 17 career goals: six in 2023, nine in 2024, one in 2025 and one this season
• Earned United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-America and All-WCC First Team honors in 2024, when he led San Diego with nine goals and five game-winners
• Was selected in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft
#11 DEVIN ZACHRY | JUNIOR | FORWARD | MISSION VIEJO, CALIF. | CAPISTRANO VALLEY | FAIRFIELD
Through 17 Matches (2026)
• Has appeared in 14 matches, all off the bench, totaling 339 minutes, and leads the team in substitute appearances
• Made it 2-0 against Saint Mary’s in the 62nd minute, finishing first-time from inside the 6-yard box after the goalkeeper couldn’t hold an Elijah Zelkind cross
• Both of his goals this season have come as a substitute; the first was the 42nd-minute equalizer at San Francisco, off a Luca Fava assist
• Has scored on both of his shots on target this season
• Played 22 minutes off the bench in the Sept. 26 draw with Denver
• Had three goals and two assists in 15 appearances in 2025, his first season at USD after transferring from Fairfield
#13 IAIN WAGNER | JUNIOR | MIDFIELDER | SAN DIEGO, CALIF. | SAINT AUGUSTINE
Through 17 Matches (2026)
• Has started all 17 matches and logged 1,410 minutes
• Named to the All-WCC Second Team on Tuesday after a First Team selection in 2025, and to the WCC All-Academic Team for the second straight season on Monday
• Broke a scoreless tie against Saint Mary’s with his first game-winner of the season in the 59th minute, and led all players with five shots
• Ranks second on the team with 49 shots and four assists, shares the lead with 17 shots on target and is third with 12 points
• Led all players with five shots, three on target, in the Sept. 26 draw with Denver, and played 63 minutes off the bench in San Diego’s 3-2 win at Denver in 2025
• Scored in the 88th minute at Pacific off a Taj Eagleston assist, 77 seconds after San Diego went down to 10 men
• Has 13 career goals, nine of them during a 22-point sophomore season in 2025
• Has assisted two of Steven Ramirez’s nine goals this season: the 64th-minute insurance goal against Liberty, on a through ball behind the back line, and the 23rd-minute equalizer at LMU
• Scored his first goal of 2026 in the 17th minute against San Diego State, finishing left-footed from 25 yards off a recycled corner
• Was selected by LAFC in the third round of the 2026 MLS SuperDraft
#18 ETHAN MCNAUGHTON | SENIOR | MIDFIELDER | CARDIFF-BY-THE-SEA, CALIF. | SAN DIEGUITO ACADEMY
Through 17 Matches (2026)
• Has appeared in 13 matches with eight starts, totaling 782 minutes
• Started on Senior Night and played 82 minutes in the shutout of Saint Mary’s, his fourth straight start
• Went the full 90 in the three matches before that, against Santa Clara, at UCLA and at Seattle U
• Headed in Kevin Pena’s left-sided corner at the near post in the 56th minute against Santa Clara for the first goal of his collegiate career, breaking a scoreless tie
• Started and played 83 minutes in the Sept. 26 draw with Denver
• Has put two of his three shots this season on target
• Made three appearances over his first three seasons before this fall
#21 KEVIN PENA | GRADUATE | MIDFIELDER | SAN MARCOS, CALIF. | SAN MARCOS
Through 17 Matches (2026)
• Has appeared in nine matches with three starts, totaling 273 minutes
• Played 17 minutes off the bench against Saint Mary’s, his second straight reserve appearance after three straight starts at Pacific, against Santa Clara and at UCLA
• Assisted the opening goal at Pacific and against Santa Clara, delivering the corner Ethan McNaughton headed in against the Broncos
• Scored twice in 38 minutes off the bench against Portland, the first multi-goal match of his career
• Struck a right-footed free kick from 25 yards into the upper-left corner in the 71st minute against Portland, then looped an 18-yard shot over the goalkeeper in the 73rd, 1:58 later
• Has six points this season and has scored on both of his shots on target
• Is the only current Torero who played in the 2022 NCAA Tournament first-round match at Denver, logging 14 minutes off the bench as a freshman, and played 15 minutes in the Sept. 26 draw with the Pioneers
• Has four career goals and eight career assists: two goals and two assists as a freshman in 2022, four assists as a sophomore in 2023 and two goals and two assists this season
#22 ELIJAH ZELKIND | GRADUATE | DEFENDER | SAN DIEGO, CALIF. | TORREY PINES | MISSOURI STATE
Through 17 Matches (2026)
• Has appeared in 14 matches with five starts, totaling 643 minutes
• Named WCC Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 9 after assisting on the first two goals of the 4-0 win over Saint Mary’s, the first two assists of his Torero career
• Has started each of the last five matches, going the full 90 at Pacific and UCLA
• Scored the first goal of his collegiate career in the 81st minute against Santa Clara, tapping in from 6 yards after a Steven Ramirez cross was miscleared
• Has four points this season on a goal and two assists, and has put four of his six shots on target
• Did not appear in 2025, his first season at USD, while recovering from injury
#24 LUCA FAVA | JUNIOR | MIDFIELDER | YORBA LINDA, CALIF. | PEARSON ACADEMY
Through 17 Matches (2026)
• Has started all 15 matches he has played and logged 1,075 minutes
• Started and played 72 minutes in the shutout of Saint Mary’s
• Has five points this season on a goal and three assists, and ranks fourth on the team with 23 shots
• Assisted Devin Zachry’s 42nd-minute equalizer at San Francisco, his third assist of 2026
• Named WCC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 14 after starting at wing-back in 2-1 wins at UC Irvine and against San Diego State
• Scored his first goal of 2026 in the 66th minute at California Baptist, the game-winner, 45 seconds after the Lancers went down to 10 men
• Put his only shot on target in 84 minutes in the Sept. 26 draw with Denver and started San Diego’s 3-2 win at Denver in 2025
#29 DEVIN DILLON | JUNIOR | DEFENDER | DRAPER, UTAH | CORNER CANYON
Through 17 Matches (2026)
• Has appeared in all 17 matches with 14 starts, logging 1,349 minutes
• Sent in the left-sided cross that led to the own goal that made it 3-0 against Saint Mary’s, and played 86 minutes
• Nodded a Matteo Salcedo corner into an empty net at the far post in the 80th minute against Santa Clara for the game-winner
• Both of his goals this season have been game-winners, tied with Steven Ramirez for second on the team behind Taj Eagleston’s four
• Went the full 90 in eight straight matches, from the Sept. 26 draw with Denver through the Oct. 31 win at Seattle U
• Came off the bench to assist Owen Walz’s equalizer 12 seconds before halftime of San Diego’s 3-2 win at Denver in 2025, the first assist of his career
• Scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 53rd minute at Washington for the first goal of his Torero career
#14 MATTEO SALCEDO | RS FRESHMAN | MIDFIELDER | DANA POINT, CALIF. | CAPISTRANO VALLEY CHRISTIAN
Through 17 Matches (2026)
• Has appeared in 14 matches with six starts, totaling 672 minutes
• Leads the team with five assists, against Liberty, San Diego State, Portland, Santa Clara and UCLA
• Set up Oliver Rhoades’ 67th-minute goal at UCLA 2:21 after entering as a substitute
• Set up Devin Dillon’s 80th-minute winner against Santa Clara with a left-sided corner after coming on at halftime
• Delivered the free kick against Portland that Tobias Polz headed back across goal for Steven Ramirez’s equalizer
• Started and played 55 minutes in the Sept. 26 draw with Denver
• Put all three of his shots on target at Kansas City
#3 LUCIEN WA BWANDA | JUNIOR | DEFENDER | AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS | NOVA COLLEGE | INDIANA WESLEYAN | CAL STATE FULLERTON
Through 17 Matches (2026)
• Has appeared in 12 of the 17 matches with nine starts, for a total of 681 minutes
• Came on in the 82nd minute of the shutout of Saint Mary’s
• Recorded his first point as a Torero against Portland, crossing for Kevin Pena’s 73rd-minute goal after a give-and-go with Oliver Rhoades on the right flank
• Has gone the full 90 six times: in his Torero debut at Washington, at Stanford, at California Baptist, against San Diego State, at San Francisco and against Portland
#6 TOBIAS POLZ | GRADUATE | DEFENDER | GRAZ, AUSTRIA | HAK MATTERSBURG | UNIVERSITY OF DERBY
Through 17 Matches (2026)
• Has started all 12 matches he has played, for a total of 1,066 minutes
• Named to the All-WCC First Team on Tuesday; all three of San Diego’s clean sheets this season have come in matches he played, against Denver, at Pacific and against Saint Mary’s
• Has gone the full 90 in each of his last 11 appearances, including the shutouts of Denver and Saint Mary’s
• Took three shots against Saint Mary’s, forcing a first-half save
• Recorded his first point as a Torero against Portland, heading a Matteo Salcedo free kick back across the goal mouth for Steven Ramirez’s 51st-minute equalizer
• Has nine shots this season, including three at Kansas City, where an 85th-minute effort came off the woodwork
