Oct. 9, 2001
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
THIS WEEK
The Aztecs open their 2001 Mountain West Conference season by hosting Utah on Thursday, Oct. 11, at 3:00 p.m. at the SDSU Sports Deck.
Two days later (Saturday, Oct. 13) , SDSU will face pre-season MWC favorite Brigham Young at 1:00 p.m. at the Sports Deck.
FINISHING UP AT HOME
The game vs. Brigham Young will be the Aztecs' final home game of the season and has been designated as Senior Day. Nine athletes playing their final game at SDSU will be honored prior to the game.
Following the BYU contest, San Diego State will conclude its regular season with four conference road games followed by the Mountain West Conference Tournament at UNLV.
SERIES RECORDS
San Diego State leads the series with Brigham Young, 5-4. The Cougars have won the last two meetings including the MWC Tournament title game in San Diego in 1999 and last year's contest in Provo. The last Aztec win over BYU came during the 1999 regular season, a 2-0 victory played at the ARCO Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. Three of the nine meetings between SDSU and BYU have gone to overtime with the Cougars winning two of those encounters.
Utah holds a 4-2 advantage over the Aztecs in the series between the two teams and is the only conference school that leads the soccer series with SDSU. Utah has defeated the Aztecs three times over the past two seasons (including at the 2000 MWC Tournament) with the last San Diego State victory coming in 1998.
MOST RECENTLY
San Diego State dropped a pair of home matches last weekend to drop its record at the SDSU Sports Deck to 1-5 this season.
On Friday, Oct. 5, the Aztec fell to Pepperdine by a score of 3-1. The Waves jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first half, but a goal by Arinda Alvarez just before the break narrowed the lead to 2-1. However, The Waves added a third goal in the second half and SDSU was unable to respond.
On Sunday (Oct. 7), USC scored on a penalty kick midway through the second half to break a 1-1 deadlock as it completed a 2-1 win over San Diego State. After the Trojans opened the scoring early in the game, SDSU came back four minutes into the second half on a 25-yard shot from senior Fay deLeon. The Aztecs were unable to secure a second goal and fell to their fifth straight defeat.
CLEGG REACHES MILESTONE
Chuck Clegg is his ninth season in charge of the SDSU women's soccer program with a record of 100-60-5 (.621). His 100th career win as coach of the women's squad came in SDSU's 2-0 win at UC Riverside on Sept. 18.
He joins Clive Charles (Portland) and Anson Dorrance (North Carolina) as the only other NCAA Division I coaches to accumulate at least 100 wins as both a men's and women's collegiate head coach. Clegg compiled 194 victories as head coach of the Aztec men from 1982-99.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Utah enters the week with a record of 6-3-0, the top mark among Mountain West Conference schools as league play begins this week. Sophomore forwards Bobbie Benegas and Missy Dennis lead the Utes with five goals apiece. Senior Amy Kofoed was an all-MWC and all-West Region selection a year ago. Goalkeeping duties are being split equally between soph Lynnsey Amay (0.50 gaa) and junior Courtney Hills (1.94 gaa).
Brigham Young, ranked as high as 13th in the nation this week (Soccer Buzz), has compiled a mark of 6-4-1 this season. The Cougars will play at UNLV prior to visiting San Diego for Saturday's match. BYU's most high-profile player is sophomore midfielder Aleisha Cramer (3g, 2a),a member of the U.S. National Team and a preseason all-American. The Cougars' top scorer this season is Kim Devine with five goals and three assists. Senior goalie Jennifer Waldron has started all 11 of BYU's contests and has a goals against average of 1.01.
CASTELLANOS ON THE CHARTS
With her goal vs. Stanford on Sept. 30, Kim Castellanos moved into sole possession of the No. 7 spot on the SDSU career goal list with 17. She needs one goal to move into a tie for sixth (with Elicia Petre, 1997-2000), and two more to move into a tie for fifth (with Sufia Wali, 1996-98).
Castellanos also needs just four points to move into the Aztec top 10 list for career points. That position is currently occupied by Susan Mendez (1995-98) with 40 points.
QUI?ONES BUSY IN GOAL
With 45 saves thus far in 2001, senior goalie Linnea Qui?ones has moved into the number-three sport on the SDSU career saves list with 141. Number two on the list is Katherine Judkins (1996-99) with 192 career saves.
Qui?ones' 45 saves this season represents the highest total in her four years as an Aztec. Her previous high was 32 during the 2000 campaign.
ALVAREZ GETS FIRST GOAL
Forward Arinda Alvarez scored the first goal of her collegiate career against Pepperdine last Friday. She was on the receiving end of a Fay deLeon corner kick which she head into the net.
She is tied for the Mountain West Conference lead with four assists on the year. She is one of six players in the league to record two assists in a game this season (vs. Eastern Washington).
Alvarez, who was the Metro League player of the year at nearby Chula Vista High School in 1999, had not played soccer the past two years while enrolled at SDSU. She came out last spring as a walk-on and has moved into a spot in the starting lineup.
LOSING THE STREAK
San Diego state will be attempting to halt its current five-match losing streak this week. All five of those losses have come to teams that were either ranked (California, Stanford, Santa Clara) or were among others receiving votes in the national polls (Pepperdine, USC).
The five-game losing streak is the second-longest in the history for the women's soccer program. The Aztecs had a six-match losing streak during the first half of the 2000 season.
ON THE HORIZON
Following the home finale vs. Brigham Young on Saturday, the Aztecs will begin the road portion of their conference schedule with a match at Wyoming on Friday, Oct. 19
The game in Laramie will be the first of four straight away for home to conclude the 2001 regular season.