Oct. 16, 2001
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
This Week
The San Diego State men's soccer team continues Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play this weekend with a pair of road matches. The Aztecs compete against San Jose State on Friday at 7:30 p.m. before facing Fresno State on Sunday at 3 p.m. SDSU (5-6-1, 1-1 MPSF) opened league play last weekend, shutting out 25th-ranked Denver on Friday and losing to Air Force, 1-0 on Sunday. The Aztecs are in a three-way tie for second in the MPSF, sharing the spot with San Jose State and CSU Sacramento.
Recapping Denver
Friday's Aztec win was their fourth in five tries and marked the first time the program has beaten a ranked opponent under head coach Lev Kirshner. SDSU, which started five freshmen, took a 1-0 lead late in the match with an Anthony Zoric header at the 66:52 mark. Zoric's first collegiate goal was assisted by Enrique Tovar and Ryan Cook. Chris Giudicelli would provide an insurance goal, his first score of the year, at 87:51 with Adam Kulpa and Enrique Tovar being credited with the double assist. SDSU goalkeeper Tim Edwards picked up his second win of the season and second career shutout.
Recapping Air Force
Play throughout Sunday's match was fairly even with Air Force taking 15 shots to SDSU's 12. Both teams also took five corner kicks. The lone score of the match came by Air Force senior Armando Ruiz at the 73:56 mark. Ruiz found the net from 12 yards out after dribbling through traffic at the top of the box. SDSU goalkeeper Tim Edwards spent all 90 minutes in the net, recording five saves and the loss.
Tovar Update
Junior forward Enrique Tovar is the team's lead scorer this season. His two assists Friday gave him four goals and four assists (12 points) on the year. Tovar is the first Aztec to receive the league's player of the week honor this season doing so on Oct. 1. The occasion also marks the first time Tovar has earned the weekly award. Earlier this season, he scored the fastest goal in program history, finding the net just 15 seconds into the match versus UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 6.
Setting The Tone
Also setting the tone of the Aztec offense this season has been a local product, sophomore midfielder Kevin Sapanli. Sapanli scored his fifth goal of the season in the UCLA match on Oct. 7, coupled with his one assist he is second on the team in scoring with 11 points.
The New Class
SDSU has gotten plenty of help from its newcomers thus far this season. The Aztecs' first score of the year came courtesy of the frosh duo of Eric Wohl and Paul Szefler. Wohl recorded his first collegiate goal (off a pass from Szefler) versus Notre Dame de Namur on Sept. 2. Wohl chipped in his second goal of the season versus UC Riverside and Szefler his first. The newcomers have also been prominent in the starting lineup, with Szefler, defenders Aaron Frimkess, Michael Sanchez and John Mack, forward Mauricio Soler, forward/midfielder Drew Picone and forward/defender Patrick Strait receiving the starting nod at least once thus far. Soler picked up his first two assists against Christian Heritage on Oct. 6. Frimkess picked up two of his three assists during the Christian Heritage/UCLA weekend as well.
Barnes Watch
Returning for his junior season is All-America candidate goalkeeper Brian Barnes. The 2000 first-team all-MPSF and all-academic team pick, who holds the single-season school record for saves (90) and is third in career saves (184), serves as team captain in 2001. He is the only player listed in the school's top three in career saves with only two seasons of experience. He is 3-4-0 this year with a 1.73 goals-against average.
Coaching Staff
San Diego State is led by second-year head coach Lev Kirshner. Kirshner is assisted by Matt Hall, in his second season, and Dave Siracusa, in his first year. Hall, who serves as goalkeeping coach, defended the Aztecs nets for three seasons. Former Aztec Rene Miramontes serves as volunteer coach and advises the team on technical aspects of the game. Miramontes played for the scarlet and black in 1976-77 and '79-80.
Scouting San Jose State
San Jose State split a pair of MPSF matches last week, improving to 7-5-0 and 1-1-0 in league, with a loss to UNLV on Friday and a win Sunday versus New Mexico. The Aztecs and Spartans are 5-5 in the all-series dating back to the teams' first meeting in 1971. The two last met in 1997 with SDSU posting a loss 2-1 in San Diego. Senior Lars Lyssand is the league's lead goal scorer with nine. Coupled with eight assists he is also the leader in points (26).
Scouting Fresno State
Fresno State (3-4-5, 0-1-1 MPSF) has lost two of its last three matches and comes off a 1-0 overtime defeat at UNLV. Senior Noah Delgado is the MPSF's second highest scorer this season with 18 points (seven goals, four assists). The all-time series between the Aztecs and Bulldogs is tied (8-8-0). Fresno took the last meeting, 1-0.
Things To Come
SDSU continues conference play next week with a pair of home matches, hosting UNLV on Oct. 26 at 4 p.m. and New Mexico on Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. All home matches are held at the SDSU Sports Deck.