Oct. 11, 2001
San Diego - Senior midfielder Danielle Small's goal, her first of the season, on a direct free kick from 25 yards in front of goal gave San Diego State a 2-1 overtime victory over Utah Thursday afternoon at the SDSU Sports Deck.
With the win, the Aztecs ended a five-match losing streak and upped their record to 5-7-0. The Utes fell to 6-4-0 on the season. The match was the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams.
After an evenly played 80 minutes, San Diego State appeared on the way to victory in regulation when Arinda Alvarez headed in a cross from sophomore forward Kim Castellanos at 81:30. It was Alvarez's second goal of the season and looked to be the game-winner.
The Utes, however, had other ideas, and less than two minutes later drew even on the scoreboard. Shauna Gurr-Bingham threaded a through ball to teammate Katie Tate, who beat her defender and shot a low liner past SDSU goalie Linnea Quinones in the 84th minute of the game.
Both teams had chances to win the game in the extra period. Castellanos hit the crossbar early in overtime, and Utah's Amber Brower had a shot deflected onto the crossbar by a defender with Quinones caught out.
SDSU's winning goal came when the Utes committed a foul in front of goal near the end of the first overtime. Small, a member of the Australian national team, hit the free kick into the upper right side of goal that Utah goalkeeper Lynnsey Asay got a hand on but could not stop.
Utah outshot the Aztecs 16-13 on the day with Quinones called on to make eight saves. She stopped a pair of point blank shots in the second half to keep SDSU in the game. Utah's Asay made three saves on the day.
San Diego concludes its 2001 home season on Saturday when Brigham Young visits the SDSU Sports Deck for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff. Prior to the match, eight Aztec seniors will be honored as they make the final home appearance of their careers.
San Diego State 2, Utah 1 (ot) 1 2 OT TUtah 0 1 0 1SDSU 0 1 1 2Scoring: SD - Alvarez (Castellanos) 81:39 UT - Tate (Gurr-Bingham) 83:03 SD - Small (unassisted) 104:34Shots: UT-16, SD-13Saves: UT-3 (Asay-3), SD-8, (Quinones-8)Corner Kicks: UT-8, SD-9Fouls: UT-20, SD-16Offside: UT-4, SD-1Cautions: NoneEjections: NoneAttendance: 118