Oct. 22, 2004
SAN DIEGO - Senior Courtney Burns scored two goals and sophomore goalkeeper Sophia Perez maintained her five-game shutout streak in a 2-0 win over Air Force Friday afternoon on the SDSU SportsDeck. The Aztecs improved their Mountain West Conference record to 3-0-2 (6-6-5 overall), while the Falcons fell to 0-4-1 in MWC play (3-11-2 overall).
"It is that time of year when seniors need to step up and Courtney (Burns) said `I'm stepping up'," SDSU head coach Mike Giuliano said. "She had two tremendous goals in the game, great position on the first and a great finish on the second."
Burns scored her first goal at the 18 minute mark in the first half when Air Force goalkeeper Jennifer Drew couldn't cleanly hold on to a SDSU shot, allowing Burns to take the deflection and put it into the far corner of the net.
The Aztecs, and Burns, would strike again four minutes into the second half as Ashley Cooper and Amanda Swiader traded passes into Burns, who found herself free 15 yards in front of the Falcon goal, and knocked the ball in with a flick from the back of her boot. SDSU continued control of the ballgame the remaining 40 minutes and took the victory.
"I thought this was the game we needed to be scared of," Giuliano said. "Air Force came out strong in the second half, but I loved that we were able to sort that out and play well to the very end."
Statistically, the Aztecs controlled the ballgame outshooting Air Force 18-9, including 9-1 in the first half, and did not allow any of the Falcons chances to challenge the goal. SDSU was aggressive in the game, with 21 fouls to 11 for Air Force.
The Aztecs have not lost a regular season game in the MWC since Nov. 1, 2003, when they fell on the road to UNLV, 1-0.
Perez made five saves to earn her fifth consecutive and ninth shutout of the season. On the year, Perez is 6-5-5 with a 0.59 goals against average. Katherine Judkins is the SDSU single-season leader in GAA at 0.61 (1998).
"When you have one game to go in conference play and you haven't given up a conference goal, you have to love that," Giuliano said. "We just work very hard and play organized in the back, and having one of the best keepers in the nation in Sophia Perez doesn't hurt."
The SDSU defense has now gone 564:44 without allowing a goal, its longest streak in the program's 16-year history.
The Falcons best chance to score came at the 55 minute mark, when forward Brittney Perkowski slipped a free kick under the Aztecs wall that forced Perez to make a diving save.
SDSU takes a break from conference play Thursday, when the Aztecs welcome Colorado College in for a 1 p.m. game.