Aug. 29, 2005
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Soccer Weekly Release
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SDSU Men's Soccer Kicks Off 2005 With Trip to Garden State
* After two successful exhibition wins over UC San Diego and the Aztec alumni, San Diego State travels to New Jersey for a final tune-up match against the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Aug. 30, before opening the season Sept. 2 at the Phillips/adidas Soccer Classic in Piscataway, N.J.
The SDSU-Rutgers game will be the featured match on Friday night with kick-off scheduled for 8 p.m. EDT at Yurcak Field. The game will be the season opener for both schools. Saturday, the Aztecs will take on St. John's, the fifth-ranked team in America according to collegesoccernews.com, beginning at 5:30 p.m. EDT.
Series History vs. Rutgers
* The Aztecs enter Friday night's game with the Scarlet Knights looking for its first-ever victory over the New Jersey school. The teams last met Oct. 3, 2003, at the Rutgers Classic with the No. 11 Scarlet Knights claiming a 4-1 victory. The only other meeting came on Oct. 20, 1989, a 2-1 Rutgers win. Oddly enough, both times SDSU lost to the Scarlet Knights, the Aztecs posted winning records with the 1989 squad advancing to the NCAA tournament.
Series History vs. St. John's
* Similar to the Rutgers game, SDSU will be looking for its first-ever win over St. John's. This is only the second time these two schools have met. The Aztecs last faced the Red Storm at the Rutgers Classic Oct. 5, 2003, with 14th-ranked St. John's earning a 1-0 victory.
So We Meet Again
* This weekend's Phillips/adidas Soccer Classic brings brings together three teams that have not seen each other since the last time Rutgers hosted a tournament. San Diego State, Rutgers and St. John's were all participants in the Rutgers Classic back in 2003. Just like two years ago, the Aztecs will play both the Scarlet Knights (L, 1-4) and Red Storm (L, 0-1) with different results in mind.
Homecoming
* San Diego State's return to the Garden State marks the return of head coach Lev Kirshner. Kirshner, a 1991 communication graduate of Rutgers, played for current Scarlet Knight head coach Bob Reasso and is listed as one of RU's top-25 alums.
During his collegiate playing days, Kirshner guided the Scarlet Knights to a 1987 NCAA quarterfinal appearance, a 1989 NCAA semifinal loss to eventual champion Virginia and a runner-up finish to UCLA in the 1990 championship match.
"Lev was an outstanding player for us and a very integral part of a team that went to two Final Fours in his career," Reasso recently said. "In my 25 years at Rutgers, Lev was one of the finest players ever to come through our program."
Just Watch
* Freshman forward Kevin Werbner is listed among the top-100 freshman to watch according to collegesoccernews.com. Werbner, a Manchester, Conn. native, was a five-year starter for his ODP Region I team and was the U-16 U.S. national team's leading scorer during its tour of Mexico in 2002. As a prep at Manchester High School, Werbner earned 2004 conference player of the year honors as well as being a three-time all-conference and two-time all-state selection.
In Good Company
* Lev Kirshner's 2005 incoming recruiting class is rated No. 39 in America according to collegesoccernews.com. The top-40 ranking marks the first time the Aztecs' incoming class has been nationally recognized during Kirshner's six-year tenure.
"This is our first ever ranking in this category and is an example of what our program can accomplish," Kirshner said. SDSU joins its other Pacific-10 Conference mates in the rankings and of the top-40, 26 advanced to last season's NCAA tournament, including 12 of the College Cup's 16 seeds.
Running with the Pac
* Beginning this season, San Diego State becomes the newest member of the Pacific-10 Conference. The Aztecs join the likes of traditional powerhouses California, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA and Washington in the now six-member league.
SDSU's first conference match of the season is Sept. 30 against Stanford at SDSU Sports Deck. The game versus the Cardinal will be game six of a seven-match homestand with a date against the Golden Bears (Oct. 2) rounding out the early portion of the home schedule.