Sept. 26, 2003
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
SAN DIEGO - Aztec forward Kim Castellanos, who has missed the last four games because of an ankle sprain, scored a goal just 2:19 after entering the match in the first half to help lead San Diego State (4-4-0) to a 3-1 women's soccer victory over Nevada (2-6-0) on Friday afternoon. The win was the third straight for the Aztecs.
Prior to Castellanos' goal, the SDSU offense was already on attack, firing off five shots in a five-minute span, which culminated with the last two coming seconds apart when forward Becky Prilaman blasted the ball off the left post and the ball ricocheted right to defender Erica Lopez, who drilled the ball into the lower right portion of the net. Lopez's goal came at the 21:30 mark.
Castsellanos received perfect placement on a corner kick from forward Lisette Martinez to score her goal. She had the ball at her feet just seven yards from the goal with no one to beat before smashing it in with 29:52 elapsed.
The Aztecs entered halftime with an 11-4 shot advantage and kept the pressure on in the second half.
After SDSU recorded the first two shots of the second half, Martinez added to the score at the 50:31 mark with a shot from the left side of the 6-yard box that was hit into the lower right corner of the net. Prilaman recorded the assist by serving up a long pass from the right side about 30 yards out.
Less than three minutes later, Nevada got on the scoreboard with a couple well-placed passes from forward Kristin Anderson and defender Leisha Makinano to midfielder Terran Hadlock.
The Wolf Pack score at the 53:20 mark ended a scoreless span by the San Diego State defense of 255:57, the team's longest since a stretch of 298:22 over a four-game span in 1999.
The stellar SDSU defense only required goalkeeper Stephanie Pearson to make one save. For the game, San Diego State out-shot Nevada, 18-6, and had a 9-2 shots-on-goal advantage. The Aztecs also had a firm grip on the corner kick advantage, taking six to the Wolf Pack's one.
"The first half was one of the best halves we've played all year," head coach Chuck Clegg said. "In the second half we took control, went up 3-0, but then gave up a sloppy goal. We need to keep our focus with a 3-0 lead."
Defender Erica Lopez recorded five shots, two on goal, to lead SDSU in that category while Martinez had four shots, all of which were on goal.
San Diego State returns to action at UC Riverside at 3 p.m. Wednesday. The Aztecs' next home match is next Friday at 3 p.m. against Arizona State, currently ranked No. 13 nationally by Soccer Buzz Magazine and No. 17 by Soccer America.