Nov. 12, 2003
SAN DIEGO - Four members of the San Diego State men's soccer team received all-conference recognition for their efforts during the season. Seniors Ryan Curtis and Kevin Sapanli both were named to the second team by the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, while junior Kenny Fechner and sophomore Heath Creager earned honorable mention plaudits. The four led SDSU to a 2-2-2 conference mark and a fourth place finish in the MPSF.
Ryan Curtis, a co-captain, has played in 76 games during his career at SDSU, starting in 75 including all 37 games over the past two seasons. Curtis anchors the defense for the Aztecs, which finished the year ranked third in the MPSF with a 1.43 goals against average. Curtis was also named to the SDSU Soccer Classic All-Tournament and the Rutgers Phillips/adidas Classic All-Tournament teams during the season.
The award is the second for Kevin Sapanli as he also received second-team honors during his sophomore campaign. After missing the first four games of the season due to injury, Sapanli has turned up the offense down the stretch tallying at least a point in five of the Aztecs' last seven games, and has posted all four goals and 10 of his 11 points on the year during that span. Sapanli earned MPSF Brine Player of the Week honors on Oct. 27 after scoring two goals to lead the Aztecs to a 3-1 victory over UNLV. Sapanli is also an exceptional student as he earned CoSIDA All-Academic District VIII honors with a 3.87 GPA in business.
Kenny Fechner has posted nine assists on the season, which is the second most in the MPSF. The nine assists are also the most most for an Aztec since Aaron Susi tallied 10 in 1995. Fechner earned Soccer College News National Team Of The Week honors on September 2 after leading the Aztecs to the SDSU Soccer Classic title. Fechner recorded three assists and contributed to a shutout of LIU during the tournament and was named the Most Outstanding Defender.
Heath Creager leads SDSU in scoring with seven goals and 16 points in his first season with SDSU after transferring from Indiana. Creager ranks sixth in the MPSF in goals scored, and ninth in scoring. Creager is one of three Aztecs' with multiple goal games as he scored both goals in SDSU's 2-0 victory over Long Island to earn SDSU Soccer Classic All-Tournament team honors.
The Aztecs will face Sacramento State in the first round of the conference tournament on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Sacramento. If the Aztecs advance, they will face top-seed San Jose State on Friday at 7 p.m., while the championship game is on Sunday at 1 p.m. The winner of the MPSF tournament earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.