Sept. 12, 2002
SAN DIEGO - Despite an outstanding effort by goalkeeper Brian Barnes, the San Diego State men's soccer team dropped a 3-0 decision to cross-town rival No. 11 San Diego tonight at Torero Stadium. Barnes was under constant pressure after the game's opening minutes and registered 12 saves, but the Toreros finally broke through with their first goal in the match's 73rd minute and tacked on two more late tallies to win their third straight in the all-time intercity series.
The dozen-save effort represented Barnes' most saves in a match since he was credited with 14 stops against Washington in his all-MPSF keeper season in 2000.
Barnes came into the night having faced only 22 shots in SDSU's first two matches, but that total was eclipsed midway through the second half tonight. The Toreros did not record their first shot until the 12th minute of the match, but by game's end they had totaled 33 shots. The SDSU defense was up to the task for most of the night, recording two team saves - including senior defender Ryan Cook's stop of USD's first shot in the 12th minute - and turning aside the Toreros' 12 corners.
However, USD took the lead on Andrew Ehrich's well-placed shot from 15 yards out and into the upper left corner of the goal at 72:35. Ryan Coiner then recorded his sixth goal of the season for the Toreros at 78:53 and Matt McCausland tallied at 87:12 to complete the scoring.
The Aztecs were bidding for their second consecutive upset against goalkeeper Parker Jarvis. A season ago, Jarvis was playing for Denver and was on the losing end of SDSU's 2-0 victory over the then-No. 25 Pioneers. But this time, the senior transfer gained the shutout for USD (5-0) by recording three saves.
SDSU (0-2-1) recorded nine shots, including two each by sophomore Eric Wohl and senior Tyler Tinling. Junior Nick Natale had perhaps the Aztecs' best scoring chance, but his attempt to tie the game in the 74th minute was slapped aside by Jarvis. Tinling, Natale and senior Abraham Martinez recorded the Aztecs' three shots on goal.
The Aztecs return to action Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. match against Westmont College at the Sports Deck.