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Oct. 24, 2002
SAN DIEGO - Looking for its first conference victory of the season, the San Diego State men's soccer team welcomes two MPSF opponents to the Sports Deck this weekend.
- SDSU (4-9-1) hosts San Jose State (8-7-0) for a 3 p.m. match on Friday. The Aztecs then welcome in CSU Sacramento (4-6-3) for a 2 p.m. match on Sunday.
Recapping The Week's Matches
- San Diego State has a busy week, playing three matches over the course of five days.
- Sparked by two first-half goals by freshman forward Matt Couch, the Aztecs upset No. 7 Loyola Marymount with a 3-2 overtime victory on Wednesday for the program's first victory over a top-10 team since a 1-0 victory over No. 4 Santa Clara on Oct. 11, 1989.
- SDSU followed up its win over LMU with a pair of one-goal losses in its first two MPSF games of the 2002 campaign.
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 Over-land 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 246, leads the MPSF with 62 saves this season. Through matches of Oct. 6, Barnes was 20th in the NCAA at 5.89 saves per game. 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 15 goals. The midfielder has scored in six of the nine games in which SDSU has a goal and leads the team with 15 points.
No Place Like Home
- With the victory over No. 7 Loyola Marymount followed by the conference-opening loss to UNLV, the Aztecs have a mark of 4-3 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 the previous 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 their next two matches at the Sports Deck.
Wohl's Scoring Spree
- Sophomore Eric Wohl has been on a scoring rampage as of late, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime as the Aztecs defeated No. 7 Loyola Marymount, 3-2, for the SDSU program's first victory over a top 10-ranked opponent since 1989.
- The Rancho Bernardo, Calif., native also tallied his fourth assist of the season against New Mexico on Sunday, giving him 10 points (3 goals, 4 assists) for the second-best total on the team.
Scouting San Jose State
- The Spartans are in the middle of a four-game winning streak, most recently defeating Air Force, 4-2.
- SJSU owns an 8-7-0 overall record and is currently undefeated (2-0-0) in MPSF action.
- San Jose State is led by Randy Poggio who has posted five goals and two assists for a total of 12 points.
- The all-time series record between the Aztecs and Spartans stands at 5-5-1.
Scouting CSU Sacramento
- San Diego State holds the advantage in the all-time series with Cal State Sacramento (2-1-1).
- Sacramento State is coming off a 2-1 victory over MPSF opponent Denver.
- David Fraser leads the Hornets with four goals and two assists.
- Overall, CSU Sacramento has a 4-6-3 record with a 1-1-0 mark in league play.
MPSF Standings
- San Diego State is currently tied for sixth place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation standings.
- SDSU finished fourth in the MPSF last year.
No. School Conf. Overall1. San Jose State 2-0-0 8-7-02T. New Mexico 1-0-0 11-2-02T. UNLV 1-0-0 8-5-04T. Air Force 1-1-0 7-6-14T. CSU Sacramento 1-1-0 4-6-36T. Denver 0-2-0 6-9-06T. San Diego State 0-2-0 4-9-1