Noah James supplied the early separation. Luca Fava supplied the late one. San Diego used goals 52 minutes apart to beat California Baptist 2-1 on Saturday in Riverside, raising the seventh-ranked Toreros to 3-1-1 through five matches.
USD first appeared to score in the fifth minute, but an offside review erased the goal. The Toreros did not retreat from the decision. Freshman Tony Ramirez, who had entered in the third minute, set up James in the 14th. James struck left-footed from outside the box for his second goal of the season and Ramirez's first college assist.
California Baptist matched San Diego with seven first-half shots. The difference was placement. USD put three of its attempts on frame, while the Lancers did not test the goalkeeper. The 1-0 halftime lead therefore reflected more than the one finish: the Toreros were the only side turning possession into shots that required saves.
The match tightened through contact and reviews. The teams committed 24 fouls, and play stopped for several video checks. Its decisive review came in the 65th minute, when California Baptist received a red card for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. The Lancers had to play the remaining 25 minutes with 10 men.
USD converted that advantage in 45 seconds. Iain Wagner and Steven Ramirez moved the ball to Fava near the penalty arc, and he drove a right-footed shot in for his first goal of the season. The sequence doubled the lead before California Baptist could reorganize its reduced formation.
The Lancers answered from the penalty spot in the 68th minute, narrowing the match to 2-1 despite the red card. They produced no shot after the 75th. San Diego kept the final stretch from becoming a succession of emergency clearances, closing the game through control rather than asking one late save to preserve it.
The second-half totals favored USD 11-4 in shots and six corner kicks to three. Across the full match, the Toreros finished ahead 18-11 in shots and took nine corners. Taj Eagleston and Tony Ramirez led the individual volume with four attempts each, while Ramirez's assist tied his work to the opening goal rather than raw shot count alone.
The two goals came from different situations. James scored while the teams were level, after USD had an early finish disallowed. Fava scored immediately after the match became 11 against 10. California Baptist's penalty kept the final score close, but its last 15 minutes without a shot limited the leverage of that response.
San Diego finishes its four-match road stretch Tuesday at UC Irvine, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. The Toreros return carrying three distinct pieces from Riverside: an early answer to a reversed goal, immediate punishment after an opponent's red card and enough composure to close once the Lancers cut the lead in half. For a team that has already played four of five away from Torero Stadium, the 3-1-1 record is being built in unfamiliar venues. Saturday added a win in which the response to each disruption was faster than the opponent's.