Sept. 21, 2003
Las Vegas - San Diego State maintained their flair for the dramatic with a 2-1 overtime victory over previously undefeated Drake to earn the UNLV Tournament championship on Sunday afternoon. The Aztecs' Blake Perry scored with under three minutes left in the second overtime to secure the victory. It is the second golden goal victory of the season for SDSU who improve to 4-1-1 on the season. The record is the best start for the Aztecs since they posted the identical mark in 1992. Drake falls to 5-1-1 after starting the season undefeated after six games for the first time in school history.
"This was a great win for us as Drake has an outstanding team and it earned us our second tournament championship of the season," said head coach Lev Kirshner. "I'm very proud of the way this team is playing and executing. They continue to grow and build upon the character they have already exhibited this season by winning close games."
SDSU finished the UNLV tournament with a 1-0-1 mark as they earned a 1-1 tie with Bowling Green on Friday night. The Aztecs also won the SDSU Classic to open the season.
The Aztecs remained without a goal in the first half this season as both teams could not find the net in the opening period. However, it did not take SDSU long to score after the break as Heath Creager picked up his team-leading third goal of the season just 45 seconds into the second half. Kevin Sapanli tallied his first assist as he led Creager into a breakaway opportunity, which he put past the Drake goalkeeper. But the Aztecs were unable to quickly couple the first goal with a second, as Drake answered back with a blast from the top of the box just four minutes later to tie the game at one.
The game remained tied through the rest of the half and the first overtime until Perry scored at the 107:38 mark. Goalkeeper Colin Hanke started the game-winning play as he got the ball to Creager who made the pass to Perry for the goal into the right side of the net. Both Hanke and Creager earned assists on the play.
The two teams matched up very well as SDSU out shot the Bulldogs 13-11 but Drake held a 7-2 advantage on cornerkicks. Both goalkeepers tallied three saves.
The Aztecs will try and remain perfect at the Sports Deck as they return home this weekend to face Hofstra on Friday at 4 p.m. and Albany on Sunday at 2 p.m.