Aug. 28, 2005
SAN DIEGO - Freshmen Mariko Strickland and Alicia Piz each tallied a goal in the last nine minutes of the second half to lead the San Diego State women's soccer team to a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Northern Arizona Sunday at the SDSU Sports Deck. The Aztecs (2-0) outshot the Lumberjacks (0-2), 20-4, for the game.
Strickland, a native of Anahola, Hawaii, tied the match at 1-1 in the 82nd minute when she took a perfectly-placed cross from classmate Jen Mello and slid it into the right corner of the net for her first goal as an Aztec.
Four minutes later (85:05), freshman Erika Sutton dribbled down the left side of the field and fired a shot from 13 yards out which was blocked by Northern Arizona goalkeeper Andrea Berra. Piz gathered the ball and tucked it away for the game-winner, her first career goal. Both Piz and Sutton were playing in their first game of the season.
"We were frustrated in the first half because we made so many mental errors," second-year head coach Mike Giuliano said. "To see (the team) finally do the things they're capable of doing in the second half was great. This was a big win for us."
Sutton almost gave SDSU a two-goal lead a few minutes later, but had her shot from 20 yards out deflected out of bounds by a diving Berra.
Northern Arizona took advantage of its best chance of the game early in the first half when Kaitlin Baum headed in a corner kick from senior Shelby Gould at the 16:44 mark, giving the Lumberjacks a 1-0 lead.
Freshman goalkeeper Christi Yount (2-0) played all 90 minutes and made two saves for the Aztecs, while Berra (0-2) stopped five shots in 90 minutes for Northern Arizona.
Sutton finished with game-high six shots and Piz had four shots for SDSU. Mello, senior Ashley Cooper and junior Jennifer Klunder contributed two shots apiece.
The Aztecs, who started five freshmen and six newcomers, are 2-0 for the first time since the 2001 season.
SDSU will travel to play three 2004 NCAA tournament teams in three successive games, beginning with a match against No. 4 Portland on Friday in Seattle, Wash. They will then play at Washington (Sunday) and at 13th-ranked Nebraska on Sept. 6.