Oct. 1, 2002
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Aztec senior Nicole Findlay scored a pair of goals to lead the San Diego State women's soccer team past Long Beach State, 3-0, Tuesday afternoon. With the win, SDSU improves to 7-2-0 on the season, while the 49ers drop to an overall record of 2-6-2. The Aztecs are off to their second-best start in the program's 14-year history approaching the halfway mark of the season, as they posted an 8-1 record after the first nine games in 1998.
SDSU and Long Beach battled for command of the ball for the majority of the first half, until Aztec senior Arinda Alvarez found the back of the net in the 34th minute off an assist from sophomore Brianna Weymouth, her first as an Aztec.
San Diego State dominated the second half, taking six shots to LBSU's four and earning two cornerkicks. Findlay knocked in a second goal for SDSU 21 minutes into the half, then turned around and put another goal up for the Aztecs just three minutes later. Freshman Amanda Swiader had the assist in Findlay's first goal, while senior Michele Wagner was credited with the assist on the third and final goal.
Aztec goalkeeper Stephanie Pearson registered six saves and posted the first shutout of her collegiate career. The win over the 49ers is SDSU's sixth in its last seven games and is the first away victory for the Aztecs this season, not including tournament play at neutral sites.
"We had a little lack of composure at the beginning of the game, but as we moved into the game and Arinda scored, we began to settle in," said assistant coach Angela Morrison. "We started to do the things we emphasize in training like winning the aerial battles, winning the knock-downs and getting good starting positions. All of those things make a big difference."
The Aztecs' next opponent is No. 19 Pepperdine. SDSU travels to Malibu on Sunday for a 1 p.m. match with the Waves.
SCORING SUMMARYSDSU - Arinda Alvarez (Weymouth) - 34:06SDSU - Nicole Findlay (Swiader) - 66:10SDSU - Nicole Findlay (Wagner) - 69:00SHOTSSDSU - 3 6 - 9LBSU - 8 4 - 12
SAVESSDSU - 3 3 - 6LBSU - 2 4 - 6
CORNERKICKSSDSU - 2 2 - 4LBSU - 2 1 - 3
FOULSSDSU - 4 4 - 8LBSU - 5 5 - 10