Sept. 4, 2002
SAN DIEGO - With four seconds remaining in regulation, freshman midfielder Lisette Martinez scored the game-winning goal off an assist from Nicole Findlay and Kim Castellanos to lift San Diego State's women's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Cal State Northridge. With the win, the Aztecs improve to 2-1 on the season, while the Matadors drop to 1-2, posting their second consecutive loss.
CSN scored first, with senior Melissa Cleal knocking in a goal just after the 15-minute mark. SDSU head coach Chuck Clegg said the Aztec defense struggled for the first 45 minutes, as the Matadors had control of the ball for the majority of the first period.
"We have to start communicating defensively," Clegg said. "It's not so much a matter of effort as it is talking to each other and keeping everybody on the same page."
Castellanos put the Aztecs on the board early in the second half, with assists from Findlay and Martinez. The match was bound for overtime as the clock ran down, until Martinez punched in her third goal of the season.
"The game was two different halves. In the last 20 minutes, we started to play the way we want to play. I knew if we got one goal and tied it up, we would win the match," said Clegg. "The final goal was an effort on everyone's part in keeping the ball alive and finishing the job."
The Aztecs' next opponent is North Carolina State. The Wolfpack come to the San Diego State Tournament with a 1-1 record, having lost most recently to No. 14 Tennessee, 2-1. The action starts at 1 p.m. Friday on the Sports Deck.
SCORING SUMMARYCSN - Cleal (Blumstein) - 15:05SDSU - Castellanos (Findlay, Martinez) - 52:20SDSU - Martinez (Findlay, Castellanos) - 89:56SHOTSCSN - 3 0 - 3SDSU - 2 12 - 14SAVESCSN - 1 2 - 3SDSU - 0 0 - 0
CORNERKICKSCSN - 1 0 - 1SDSU - 1 5 - 6
FOULSCSN - 5 8 - 13SDSU - 9 8 - 17