Dec. 18, 2003
SAN DIEGO - The year started better than any in over 10 seasons, including two tournament victories. In the middle of the season, the squad set a record for consecutive wins at the Sports Deck. The Aztecs finished 2003 with their first postseason victory since 1987 and earned more individual honors than ever before. Overall, the Aztecs were 9-8-3 in 2003, which was a great year for San Diego State men's soccer.
The SDSU Soccer Classic championship was the first accomplishment for the Aztecs as they defeated Oregon State 2-1 in overtime before earning a 2-0 victory over Long Island. After the opening weekend, Kenny Fechner was named to the Soccer College News National Team of the Week after being named the tournament's most outstanding defender and posting three assists in the two SDSU wins.
SDSU claimed a third home victory over UC Riverside, and followed by winning the UNLV Tournament with a tie against Bowling Green and a victory over previously undefeated Drake.
The Aztecs returned home to get victories over Hofstra and Albany. The five consecutive home wins set a SDSU Sports Deck record, for both men's and women's soccer. The Aztecs were also 6-1-1, the best start for SDSU since a 7-0 start in 1991.
After falling in three straight, to teams which would eventually advance to the NCAA tournament including a 1-0 loss at the hands of NCAA runner-up St. John's, the Aztecs began conference action in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
SDSU opened with a 3-1 victory over UNLV and followed with a 1-1 tie against Denver. The first week of conference action saw senior Kevin Sapanli honored by the MPSF with the Player of the Week honor as he scored two goals for the Aztecs.
Heading into the meat of the conference schedule, nature forced the Aztecs to realize there was more to life than soccer when their match up with Air Force was postponed due to the fires in San Diego. After several days off SDSU resumed action with a 1-1 tie at Sacramento State before losing a tough 2-1 game at eventual MPSF champion San Jose State. The Aztecs would clinch a trip to the MPSF tournament with a 3-2 victory in the make-up of the Air Force game and SDSU would finish fourth in regular season conference action with a 2-2-2 record.
The Aztecs played Sacramento State in the first round of the MPSF tournament on the Hornets home field, seeking their first postseason victory in 16 years. SDSU was led again by Sapanli with two goals and the Aztecs earned the win 3-1. The 2003 season was ended the following night by top-seeded San Jose State 2-1 in the conference semifinals. Midfielder Raul Bautista and goalkeeper Colin Hanke were named to the MPSF All-Tournament Team for their stellar play in the postseason.
The 9-8-3 overall mark for SDSU was its best record since 1994, including nine wins over NCAA Division I opponents, which had not happened at San Diego State since 1989. Because of the team's success many individuals were also recognized.
Four players earned MPSF plaudits, the most ever by an Aztec squad. Sapanli was named All-MPSF second team along with senior defender Ryan Curtis, while Fechner and forward Heath Creager were named All-MPSF honorable mention.
Sapanli also earned the second all-America award of his career as he was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America third team after scoring six goals and posting a 3.87 GPA in business.
Creager led the SDSU offense with seven goals and 16 total points, while Fechner tallied 10 assists on the season, which ranked second in the MPSF and seventh in SDSU's single season record book. Goalkeeper Colin Hanke recorded a 1.37 goals against average, the third-best average in the MPSF and made 87 saves, which was the fifth most in a season by an SDSU keeper.
The Aztecs now close the books on a stellar season in 2003, and begin to look at next year where eight starters and 22 players return to the roster, with sights set on even bigger goals for the future of San Diego State soccer.