Sept. 5, 2005
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Soccer Weekly Release
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SDSU Men's Soccer Hosts UC Riverside in Home Opener This Saturday
*The San Diego State men's soccer team (1-0-1) returns to San Diego for its home opener this Saturday against UC Riverside (0-2) after a successful runner-up finish at the Phillips/adidas Soccer Classic in Piscataway, N.J. The home opener is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start at the SDSU Sports Deck and comes on the heels of a 1-0 win over Rutgers last Friday and a 0-0 tie with fifth-ranked St. John's this past Saturday.
Welcome Home
*The Aztecs enter Saturday's home contest with a record of 14-3-3 in home openers since the 1985 season and are 2-3 under the direction of Lev Kirshner. The three losses are a bit deceiving as SDSU lost 1-0 in overtime to No. 13 Santa Clara in 2001, dropped a 4-3 decision against St. Mary's in 2002 and last season, 13th-ranked UC Santa Barbara cashed in on an own-goal to defeat the Aztecs, 1-0.
Scouting the Highlanders
*The Highlanders have gotten off to a rough start having faced two top-20 teams in their first two games at the adidas Classic this past weekend in Santa Barbara, Calif. Last Friday, UC Riverside dropped a 2-0 decision to No. 6 Virginia and fell by the same score this past Sunday to 20th-ranked California. The Highlanders are led by Andrew Villalobos who leads the team in shots with three. In goal is Charles Alamo who has logged every minute in each of the team's two games. Before coming to America's Finest City, the Highlanders will take on Cal Baptist at 3 p.m. this Wednesday.
Series History vs. UC Riverside
*When these two Southern California schools meet on Saturday afternoon, it will represent the 10th contest between the two and the fourth consecutive season they have faced each other. The Aztecs currently own a 6-1-2 series advantage and are 2-1-1 in the last four meetings. The last time SDSU and UCR played in San Diego, the Aztecs scored a pair of goals in the final two minutes to rally for a 2-1 win.
Phillips/adidas Soccer Classic Recap B*The last time the Aztecs went to the Garden State it was to play in the Rutgers Classic. They returned home with two losses coming at the hands of No. 11 Rutgers and 14th-ranked St. John's. This season, SDSU went back to New Jersey for a return visit against the same schools, but this time came back with different results.
Last Friday, the Aztecs played in the featured match of the night against Rutgers, the host school. The match was an offensive struggle as both teams failed to score for the first 77-plus minutes until SDSU forward Heath Creager got behind his defender and headed the ball past the Scarlet Knight goalkeeper. Aztec goalie Tally Hall, who was impressive all game, continued his stellar play and kept Rutgers off the scoreboard to earn his first shutout of the season. The win was the first for Lev Kirshner against his old collegiate coach, Bob Reasso.
Looking to build on its season-opening win, SDSU took on No. 5 St. John's the following day. The match was much like the Rutgers contest with both teams struggling to find the back of the net. SDSU outshot St. John's 10-2 in the first half, while the Red Storm outshot the Aztecs by the same margin in the second half. After a scoreless 90 minutes, both schools continued their stellar defense in the extra session and the contest ended in a scoreless tie. The tie was the second straight for San Diego State against a team ranked in the top-5 nationally. Last season, SDSU and New Mexico, ranked second in the nation, played to a 1-1, double overtime tie in San Diego.
Since San Diego State and St. John's finished the classic with the same record (1-0-1), the title was awarded to the Red Storm based on goals scored and the Aztecs were runners-up. In other tournament news, Hall was named defensive MVP and earned a spot on the all-tournament team. Teammates Matt Couch and Creager were also among those listed on the all-tournament squad.
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
*Head Coach 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.