Oct. 21, 2002
Aztecs Take a Trip to the Wasatch Front * The SDSU women's soccer team (10-4-0, 2-1) continues Mountain West Conference action as it travels to Utah for a pair of matches against conference foes Utah and BYU. * The Aztecs play in their second and final night game of the season when they face the BYU Cougars on the South Field at 7 p.m. on Saturday. * Head Coach Chuck Clegg said the road trip to the Wasatch Front of the Rocky Mountains is the most difficult of the season because of the high elevation. Utah sits at 4,685 ft., while BYU is 4,633 feet above sea level.
SDSU's Winning Ways * The Aztecs are on a roll of late, winning their last three matches and five of their past seven games. * With San Diego State's victories over Wyoming and Air Force this past weekend, the Aztecs notched their first back-to-back MWC wins since defeating New Mexico and UNLV in October of 2000.
Overtime Thriller * Sunday's match between the Aztecs and Falcons lasted, in essence, just 13 seconds. The two teams ended regulation play tied at 0-0. On SDSU's first possession of the ball at the start of the first overtime period, junior Kim Castellanos dribbled the ball down toward the 18-yard box. Senior Boo Tinling hurried from the back line defense to take the pass from Castellanos and, in turn, passed the ball to senior Nicole Findlay who knocked in the goal at 90:13.
SDSU in the Mountain West * Since its arrival into the MWC in 1999, the Aztecs own a 15-10-1 (.574) record in league matches, and a 24-25 (.490) mark in non-conference games. * San Diego State was tabbed to finish fourth this year in the Moutain West. It currently sits in the No. 3 spot after two weeks of MWC play. The Aztecs notched a fifth-place finish in the conference last year.
Home, Sweet Home * The Aztecs own a 6-1 record at the SDSU Sports Deck this year, with two more home games remaining on the schedule (San Francisco, UNLV). * Should SDSU defeat the Dons and Rebels, the 2002 team will own the program's best home record.
Findlay, The Phenomenal Forward * Senior Nicole Findlay has emerged as a team leader for SDSU over the past three matches. Here's a look at Findlay's numbers during the last two weeks: * Scored the game-winning goal 13 seconds into the first overtime period against Air Force. * Was pivotal in giving SDSU its first two conference wins, as she took two shots and posted one assist in the Aztecs' win against Wyoming and, in addition to her game-winning goal on Sunday against Air Force, took a total of three shots against the Falcons. * Scored one goal and posted an assist in SDSU's 5-1 victory over Nevada. * The Fairfield, Calif., native has started all but one game for SDSU, and has played in all 14. * She is second on the team in each statistical category with a total of five goals, four assists and 14 points.
Injury Update * Kim Castellanos appears to be back at 100 percent, as she got her first start in SDSU's game against Wyoming since sustaining an ankle injury that kept her from playing in the Aztecs' matches against Long Beach State and Pepperdine. The junior forward did see playing time against New Mexico and Nevada, but did not start. * Castellanos has posted two assists and taken 10 shots since her return. * Freshman Erica Lopez returned to action on Friday after missing four games due to injury. * Senior Hannah Garl, who suffered an ankle injury in the game against North Carolina State, continues her rehabilitation, as does Noelle Jouglet.
Aztec Triva * The 2002 squad is on pace to post the program's second-best overall record in school history. With its 10-4 mark, this year's edition is second only to the 1999 NCAA tournament team that owned a 13-1 record after the first 14 matches...San Diego State's 18 shots against Air Force tied a season-high, as the Aztecs also notched 18 against Nevada...The Aztecs' losses to Pepperdine and New Mexico were the first back-to-back losses of the season...SDSU's loss to New Mexico was the first time since the Aztecs joined a conference in 1995 that the team lost its league opener... Thirteen different Aztecs have scored goals this season...Thirteen Aztecs have been credited with at least one assist...The SDSU bench has combined for a total of seven goals, eight assists and 40 shots.
Season Firsts * Senior defender Shawni Flint scored her first collegiate goal in SDSU's 2-1 victory over Wyoming on Friday. * It was a game of season-firsts in SDSU's 5-1 win over Nevada, as four different Aztecs, Sheila Dayog, Jamie Harlor, Becky Prilaman and Boo Tinling, notched their first goals of the 2002 season. * Dayog's and Harlor's goals were also the first of their Aztec careers.
Record Watching * Junior Kim Castellanos is climbing her way to the top of the record books. She is currently third in career goals with 26 and fifth in total points with 61. * Goalkeeper Stephanie Pearson is on track to post one of the best season goals-against-averages, as she now boasts a 1.07 GAA, the fifth best in a single season.
Conference Notables * SDSU leads the Mountain West Conference in assists with 29. * Kim Castellanos has the most assists of any MWC player with six, and is in second for points (18) and points per game (1.5)
Scouting Utah * The Utes own a 9-1-3 overall record, 2-0-1 in the Moutain West Conference. * Utah is most recently coming off a 0-0 tie against New Mexico and has defeated conference opponents Wyoming (4-1) and Air Force (3-1) this season. * The U is led by junior Missy Dennis who has scored seven goals this season. Goalkeepers Lynnsey Asay-Kimball and Courtney Hills-McBeth split time at the net and own a .59 goals-against-average and .66 GAA, respectively. * Utah is a big second half team, scoring 15 of its 25 goals in the second 45 minutes of action. * The Aztecs are 3-5-0 all-time versus the Utes
Tracking BYU * The Cougars and Aztecs are tied 5-5 in the all-time series. * Brigham Young is most recently coming off a 3-2 upset over No. 23 Notre Dame and is ranked No. 10 in the NSCAA/adidas West Regional rankings. * BYU is led by senior Jeni Viernes who has six goals and five assists for 17 points.