Oct. 17, 2002
SAN DIEGO - Coming off its biggest victory of the season, a 3-2 overtime victory over No. 7 Loyola Marymount on Wednesday, the San Diego State men's soccer team looks to carry that momentum into MPSF play with today's 3 p.m. conference opener against UNLV.
SDSU Knocks Off No. 7 Loyola Marymount
- On Wednesday, the Aztecs claimed their first victory over a top-10 opponent since 1990 by dropping No. 7 Loyola Marymount from the ranks of the unbeaten, 3-2. Sophomore forward Eric Wohl's game-winning goal in the 97th minute completed the overtime thriller and gave SDSU (4-7-1) its first victory against a ranked opponent this season, while handing LMU (11-1-2) its first loss of the year.
- Freshman forward Matt Couch scored two first-half goals to put SDSU up, 2-0. As LMU scored twice to tie, senior goalkeeper Brian Barnes registered 10 saves to preserve the tie and get the game into overtime, setting up Wohl's heroics.
- SDSU's last victory over a top-10 opponent came on Oct. 11, 1989, when the unranked Aztecs defeated Soccer America No. 4 Santa Clara, 1-0.
Aurora Stars
- Aurora, Colo., natives Brian Barnes and Paul Szefler lead SDSU's all-conference candidacy with their stellar play this season. Roommates during SDSU's road matches, both players attended Overland High School and were briefly teammates when then-freshman Szefler was a playoff call-up from the JV team during Barnes' senior season in 1997.
- Senior goalkeeper Barnes, SDSU's career saves leader with 250, leads the MPSF with 66 saves this season. He is averaging 6.0 saves per game in 2002 and has recorded two double-digit save efforts, including 10 stops in the victory over No. 7 Loyola Marymount. The 2000 all-MPSF keeper, Barnes recorded his fourth career shutout in the Aztecs' 1-0 victory over CSU Fullerton on Oct. 6.
- Szefler has supplied the scoring punch for the Aztec offense this season with six of the team's 16 goals. A sophomore midfielder who leads the team with six goals and 14 points, Szefler has tallied at least one point in seven of the eight games in which SDSU has scored.
No Place Like Home
- With the 3-2 victory over No. 7 Loyola Marymount, the Aztecs improved to 4-2 this season at home. SDSU had dropped its previous three matches against nationally ranked opponents this year, but all were on the road.
- The win against LMU also marked the completion of one of the West's toughest pre-conference schedules. The victory was the Aztecs' first in six matches against top-10 teams from this week's adidas/NSCAA Far West region rankings, but again, the previous five games were all on the road. SDSU has now played current regionally ranked teams No. 2 Loyola Marymount, No. 3 San Diego, No. 4 UCLA, No. 5 UC Santa Barbara, No. 7 CSU Northridge and No. 10 Santa Clara.
- The Aztecs look to take full advantage of their home field edge as they play three of the next four matches at the Sports Deck.
Scouting UNLV
- The Rebels enter conference play with a mark of 7-5, including a 2-0 win over current No. 23 Hofstra on Sept. 20. UNLV has been boosted by the efforts of MF Alex Hernandez, the MPSF leader with 18 points, and GK Justin Dennis, who has allowed 16 goals and made 34 saves.
- SDSU leads the all-time series, 14-9-5, including a 9-2-2 record at home. The statistics show that the Aztecs and Rebels tied each of their two matches last season, but UNLV was feeling better about the second tie than was SDSU after converting 4-of-5 penalty kicks to advance to the semifinals of the MPSF tournament.
MPSF Standings - Oct. 18
1. New Mexico (10-2-0) 2. UNLV (7-5-0) 3. Air Force (6-5-1) T.-4. Denver (6-7-0) T-4. San Jose State (6-7-0) 6. CSU Sacramento (3-5-3) 7. San Diego State (4-7-1)