At the time, it seemed like a disastrous upset.
Visiting Vermont defeated the University of San Diego’s men’s soccer team 1-0 in overtime before a record soccer turnout at Torero Stadium in the third round of last year’s NCAA Tournament.
In retrospect, Toreros coach Brian Quinn called the Toreros’ season-ending loss “bittersweet.”
“It’s no fun losing like that,” Quinn said Monday. “But Vermont went on to win the national championship. And the memory of that loss has carried over with our players. They want to go farther this year.
“And I think we can. We’re a legitimate top-10 team in the country. We’re right there. We’re in line for a NCAA berth. The immediate goal is to secure a first-round bye.”
The Toreros could advance in 2025 as something other than the West Coast Conference champion for the first time in four seasons. Portland, which is currently ranked fifth in the nation, beat the 15th-ranked Toreros two weeks ago.
“Portland is a legitimate top-five team,” Quinn said. “But we out-played them most of the game. Portland’s first goal came when we had a player off the field with an injury. That was a game that, upon reflection, disappointed us with the result but extremely pleased us with the performance. That is soccer. It happens many times where you don’t get the result you deserve. You need a little break.”
The Toreros responded with a pair of 3-0 WCC victories over Loyola Marymount and Seattle last week to improve to 9-2-3 on the season and 3-1-1 in conference play. USD’s only losses are to No. 15 Duke in the season opener in North Carolina and the No. 5 Pilots. USD has beaten three other Top-25 teams – two of those wins coming on the road.
USD plays one of the toughest schedules in the country while in a conference with four teams that received top-20 votes.
“We’re one of those good teams that other teams prepare for,” said Quinn. “Since I’ve been here (eight seasons), this is the most depth we’ve had. It’s depth and balance. We have six or seven guys who can score. We have a lot of attacking options. The guys on defense have been stellar. And we have a corps of midfielders who can play at a very high tempo.”
USD runs a 3-5-2 alignment in front of goalkeeper Lucca Adams, a sophomore from Brazil who has a 0.45 goals-against average with five shutouts in nine games and has already been named the WCC Defensive Player of the Week twice this season.
“We’ve been really good on defense partially because Lucca does a great job communicating with us,” said center back Josh Martrinez. “He lets us know what the options are as he sees things developing. We’re very calm on the ball and when under pressure.”
Martinez was a midfielder who volunteered to move to the middle of the defense when Mathias Bauer was injured. Martinez plays between seniors Ethan Warne and Owen Walz.
“We have not missed a beat,” Quinn said.
Bauer is one of five Toreros regulars who have missed considerable time due to injuries. That list includes 2024 scoring leader Samy Kanaan, a senior from Rancho Bernardo High School, and goalkeeper Adam Salama who has a 1.40 GAA in five games.
Leading the offense this season are forwards Cesar Bahena, a senior out of Escondido High School, and junior Steven Ramirez. Bahena has five goals and three assists. Ramirez has six goals and an assist.
“Ramirez and I complement each other,” said Bahena. “Steven is more of a be-in-the-right-place finisher. I like being more on top of the ball and creating. The best thing is we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The same goes for Samy when he’s in there. Having only two forwards requires us to do a lot more running. But we’re already in sync when the midfielders have the ball.”
Sophomore Iain Wagner (St. Augustine High School) is the leading scorer in the midfield with five goals and three assists. But junior Noah James (Poway High School), sophomore Luca Fava and junior Oliver Rhoades have started all 14 games in the midfield, while senior Vicente Ayala and Wagner have 10 starts apiece.
Clearly, the Toreros are looking to go deeper in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
“We are 100% made for a playoff run,” said Martinez. “We’re super deep. We didn’t have that depth the first couple years I was here.”
“We’re confident we can win,” said Bahena. “I loved how aggressive we were during the second half in Portland. There is more of a sense of us being in control when we play. We’re confident that we can win these games.”
Every week during the school year, U-T contributor Bill Center highlights one San Diego college team that’s making strides on and off the field. To nominate a team, email wcenter27@gmail.com.
Originally Published: October 21, 2025 at 11:48 AM PDT