Aug. 30, 2005
SAN DIEGO -
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Aztecs on the Road Against National Powers Portland, Washington
San Diego State heads to the Evergreen State this weekend for two games against perennial powers Portland and Washington. The Aztecs (2-0) will play the No. 4 Pilots (1-0) at 4:30 p.m. on Friday in Seattle, Wash., on the campus of Washington, before staying in Seattle for a 1:30 p.m. match against the host Huskies (0-1-1). The two games are the first of a five-game road trip.
They Call Her Mello Yellow
Freshman Jen Mello earned Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors on Monday, to become the first Aztec freshman to win the award since Kim Castellanos in 2000.
Mello, a native of Pleasanton, Calif., scored the game-winning goal in her first game at SDSU in a 2-0 win over Cal State Fullerton (No. 15 in the region) when her shot from 20 yards out beat the Titan goalkeeper into the upper-right corner of the net. Against Northern Arizona on Sunday, Mello gained her first assist of the season when she sent a cross into classmate Mariko Strickland who put the ball away into the lower-left corner, tying the game at one apiece.
*After two games, Mello leads the squad with three points (one goal, one assist) and is fourth among field players with 153 minutes played (second among freshmen).
*Dating back to SDSU's first year in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 1995, the Aztecs have now been named conference player of the week on 25 occasions (nine in the WAC and 16 in MWC) with 17 different athletes (six in the WAC and 11 in the MWC) earning the award.
*Lori LaCoursiere (1996-99) was the only SDSU player to win the award in both conferences ('96 (twice) and '97 in the WAC, and in '99 in the MWC). Note: LaCoursiere was counted in the WAC rather than the MWC.
*Of the 17 selections, only four have been freshmen ('05 - Mello, '00 - Castellanos, '96 - LaCoursiere (twice) and '95 - Stefanie Mathews).
*Mello is also only the second Aztec to win the award in August, joining Nicole Findlay (2000, MWC)
*Other current Aztecs who have won the award include junior Jennifer Klunder (Oct. 18, 2004, Offense) and senior Lisette Martinez (Sept. 29, Sept. 22, 2004, Offense)
Youth Is Served
It's hard to believe that this team is made up mostly of underclassmen and transfers (UAT), but consider this through the first two games:
*The UAT average eight starts per game (five spg by freshmen)
*The UAT have played 74.6 percent (1,477/1,980 minutes) of the time (50.9 percent (1,008/1,980) by freshmen)
*The UAT (and freshmen) have played 100 percent (180/180) of the time in goal
*The UAT (and freshmen) have scored 75 percent (3/4) of the goals, have had 100 percent (2/2) of the assists and 80 percent (8/10) of the points
*The UAT have taken 76.9 percent (20/26) of the shots (73.1 percent (19/26) by freshmen)
*The UAT (and freshmen) have taken 81.2 percent (9/11) of the shots on goal
The Ball Stops Here
*Freshman Christi Yount is off to an excellent start in her first season on The Mesa. In two games, Yount is 2-0 with a 0.50 goals against average. She has seven saves (87.5 save percentage) and one shutout.
*Yount is the first freshman Aztec to start an opening game in net since Katherine Judkins in 1996. Judkins is among the school leaders in many categories including career shutouts (first, 23.5), career saves (second, 192), career GAA (second, 0.97), GAA in a season (first, 0.61 in 1998) and shutouts in a season (second, 10.5 in 1998).
*Katie Sullivan (1997) was the last SDSU goalie to see any playing time as a freshman goalkeeper.
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