Dec. 20, 2004
SAN DIEGO - On March 30, 2004, Dr. Mike Giuliano, one of the most successful soccer coaches in NAIA history, was named the head women's soccer coach at San Diego State University. His task was easy - turn a soccer program, which hadn't finished above .500 in league play since the 2000 season, into a national power.
In only one year, the Aztecs are on the verge of becoming just that after finishing one shootout goal short of making their first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1999.
San Diego State used a relentless style of defense, backed by solid goalkeeping, and timely goals to have one of their most successful seasons in recent memory. The Aztecs tied for second with perennial power Brigham Young in the Mountain West Conference regular season, posting a 3-1-2 conference record. It was their best MWC regular season finish since 2000.
SDSU went the first five games of conference play without allowing a goal and went 5-1-3 in its final nine games of the season. In 21 games, the Aztecs allowed just 18 goals, the program's fewest given up since the 1990 squad allowed 12 goals in 13 games.
The defense tallied nine shutouts, second most in school history, and had two impressive streaks without allowing a goal. SDSU went 595:44 without giving up a goal from Oct. 3-30 (a period of five-plus games, an Aztec record) and 288:38 from Sept. 13-19 (a stretch of two-plus games).
The turning point in the season came after SDSU played No. 3 Washington close throughout, eventually falling, 1-0. The Aztecs outplayed the Huskies the second half and had four shots to Washington's three.
"Step one is for our team to think we can play with these (ranked) teams," Giuliano would say after the game. "Step two is thinking that we can beat these teams. I thought we played with them for the whole game."
Following the Husky match, SDSU opened up its MWC schedule on the road against preseason favorites Brigham Young and Utah. The Aztecs played hard for 110 minutes and settled for 0-0, double-overtime ties against each opponent. It was the first time in the conference's six-year history that an SDSU team managed at least one point (tie or win) in each match against teams from the state of Utah.
The Aztecs shutout their next three opponents at home in convincing fashion, defeating Wyoming, 1-0, knocking off New Mexico in overtime, 1-0, and downing Air Force, 2-0. In those three games, SDSU outshot its opponents, 44-26, and held a 13-5 advantage in corner kicks. Sophomore Jen Klunder scored game-winners against Wyoming and New Mexico, and senior Courtney Burns tallied twice against Air Force.
On Oct. 30, the stage was set as UNLV and the Aztecs, each tied for first place, met before an SDSU Sports Deck record crowd of 571 to decide the regular season champion. Despite outshooting the Rebels, 13-5, for the match and 8-1 in the first half, UNLV managed to score on three of its four shots on goal, winning 3-0. The Aztecs were awarded the third seed because of Brigham Young's goal differential advantage.
It seemed like the offense finally started to click in the MWC tournament, when SDSU scored two goals apiece in shutouts over sixth-seeded New Mexico and the tournament's seventh seed Air Force. Lisa Nielsen, Tiphanie Elliott, Amanda McKay and Jessica Girdner each scored their first collegiate goals in the 2-0 victories.
The Aztecs played tough throughout in the MWC championship game against Utah. Like their previous match on Oct. 9, which ended in a 0-0 double-overtime tie, the first half of regulation was a back and forth affair. SDSU took the first four shots of the game and finished with five in the first half to the Utes four. Utah had its best chance to score in the first session (16th minute) but freshman Kiley Jones' header was stopped by Aztec senior goalkeeper Sophia Perez's diving save.
After a Utah score just 2:06 into the second half, the Aztecs answered nine minutes later off a direct kick sent in by junior Ashley Cooper from the left side of the field. Junior Amanda Swiader headed the ball to freshman Elliott who drilled a shot from 10 yards away into the right corner of the net for her second goal of the season.
Perez came up big two minutes later stopping a low shot to the left corner with a kick save, deflecting the ball out of bounds.
After two scoreless overtimes in which the Utes had two shots and SDSU had one attempt, the match headed to a shootout, the Aztecs' first in their 16-year history.
SDSU jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the shootout after Swiader and senior Shannon McBride each made their penalty attempts and Perez stopped a Utah shot. After two Aztec misses and two Ute makes, Utah had a 3-2 lead. Senior Alexis Solovij tied the shootout at 3, before the Utes' Erin Pruett scored to give Utah the 4-3 win and 2004 Mountain West Conference Championship.
Perez, who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, finished the game with seven saves. Senior Noelle Jouglet, Solovij and Swiader joined Perez on the all-tournament team.
Perez put together one of the most impressive seasons by a goalkeeper in the school history. In 20 starts, she made 87 saves (fourth in the MWC), while recording an 86.1 save percentage in 1,915+ minutes of action. Perez finished with a record of 8-6-6 and 11 shutouts (MWC leader) and an 0.66 goals against average (second in MWC), second best in a single-season by an Aztec.
The defensive strength of the team was acknowledged when the MWC announced that all four members, including goalkeeper Perez, were named to the all-MWC team. Solovij earned MWC Most Valuable Defensive Player honors with Jouglet and Perez joining Solovij on the first team, while Swiader garnered second-team honors for the second consecutive year.
SDSU also received numerous awards during the 2004 season. Four different student-athletes were named MWC Player of the Week in three consecutive weeks, with two players - Jouglet and Klunder - earning national recognition.
On Oct. 11, Perez was named the MWC Co-Defensive Player of the Week after back-to-back shutouts at Brigham Young and Utah. The following week, Klunder was selected to the Soccer Buzz National Elite team of the week after earning MWC Offensive Player of the Week honors for her consecutive game-winning goals against Wyoming and New Mexico. Jouglet garnered Soccer America Team of the Week accolades, in addition to being named MWC Defensive Player of the Week, for her strong play in the defensive backfield.
On Oct. 25, Burns earned MWC Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors, scoring both goals in a 2-0 shutout of Air Force.
The offense was led by Klunder, who scored three goals and had two assists for eight points. Solovij (three goals, one assist) and Burns (three goals) had seven and six points, respectively. Elliott finished the season with two goals and one assist for five points, while Swiader (one goal) and Cooper each had a team-high three assists.
With 25 returning players expected back in 2005 along with Giuliano's first recruiting class, the future looks bright for San Diego State women's soccer.