Sept. 27, 2005
SDSU SET TO OPEN INAUGURAL PAC-10 CAMPAIGN THIS WEEKEND
*The San Diego State men's soccer team (6-0-1) opens its highly-anticipated Pac-10 schedule on Friday, Sept. 30, when Stanford visits the SDSU Sports Deck for a 4:00 p.m. match. Two days later (Sunday, Oct. 2), the Aztecs will host fifth-ranked California at the same venue at 2:30 p.m.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
*Stanford enters the week with a mark of 3-4-1 after picking up wins over Alabama-Birmingham and Army at home last weekend. The Cardinal has scored just six goals in its eight contests, but the defense has allowed only five. Leading scorers include midfielders Marcus Ryan (3g, 1a) and Galen Thompson (2g). Goalkeeping duties are split evenly between junior Andrew Kartunen (0.24 gaa) and freshman Josh Nesbit (0.98 gaa).
*California enters the week with a 7-0-1 mark and will visit UCLA on Friday (Sept. 30) before heading to San Diego. Among the Golden Bears' wins are victories over top 25 teams Santa Clara and UC Santa Barbara. Cal averages scoring 2.3 goals a game led by senior forward Calen Carr (6g, 2a) and defender Tyson Wahl (3g, 1a). The Bears have allowed just three goals in their eight matches with goalie Erik Kronberg sporting a 0.39 goals against average.
SERIES HISTORY
*San Diego State leads the series against Stanford 5-1-3. The teams' first meeting came in 1976 and they have not faced each other since the 1996 season. SDSU is 1-0-2 against the Cardinal in three meetings in San Diego.
*The series between the Aztecs and California, which began in 1974, is deadlocked at 10-10-1. Over the 21 matches, SDSU has out-scored the Bears 37-36. Cal has won the last three meetings with the Aztecs' last victory coming in 1994. The Aztecs hold a 6-2-1 advantage in games played in San Diego.
LAST WEEK
*The Aztecs remained undefeated on the year, notching a pair of victories against Alabama A&M (1-0) and Duquesne (3-0).
*The Alabama A&M match was a physical affair that saw 42 fouls called in a tight defensive struggle. In the 88th minute, forward Raul Bautista was brought down in the box and sophomore midfielder Kraig Chiles converted the ensuing penalty kick to give the Aztecs the win.
*Against Duquesne, freshman Kevin Werbner scored his first collegiate goal at the eight-minute mark to send SDSU on the way to victory. Chiles added a pair of second half goals to seal the win while midfielder Johann Helgason contributed a pair of assists on the afternoon.
CHILES EARNS NATIONAL HONOR
*Midfielder Kraig Chiles was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week for his performance in last week's two matches.
*He scored the game-winning goal in the 1-0 win over Alabama A&M, then added two more in the 3-0 victory over Duquesne.
*Chiles has scored five goals in San Diego State's last three outings. He currently leads the team with six goals on the season.
HALL LEADS THE NATION
*Junior goalkeeper Tally Hall leads the nation this week with a 0.14 goals against average over the first seven matches of the season. His shots-on-goal save percentage of .950 ranks second in the country as well (he has stopped 19 of the 20 shots on goal taken against him).
*Hall could threaten the school mark for goals against average by the end of the 2005 campaign. The SDSU season record for gaa is 0.54, set by Bryan Finnerty in 1988.
*Hall has now gone 641:50 without allowing a goal from open play this season. The only shot to elude him was a penalty kick by Missouri-Kansas City on Sept. 18.
CRACKING THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
*San Diego State has moved up in the national top 30 poll compiled by College Soccer News. The Aztecs debuted in the number 29 spot a week ago, and this week have moved up to 24th in the country in that poll. The poll that can be viewed at the College Soccer News web site (collegesoccernews.com).
*SDSU also broke into this week's national top 25 compiled by Soccer Times. The Aztecs have been ranked 25th in the country by that publication. The Soccer Times poll (available at www.soccertimes.com) is released each Monday evening.
*In addition, the regional rankings compiled by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) listed SDSU eighth in the Far West last week. Of the seven teams ahead of them, six were ranked in the NSCAA top 25 and the other received votes last week. Those rankings are released on Tuesdays at noon at the NSCAA web site (www.nscaa.com).
AZTEC NOTES
*SDSU is averaging 1.80 goals per game after five matches while allowing 0.28 per game. Last season, the Aztecs' scoring average was 0.81 goals a game while opponents scored 1.73 per contest.
*Sophomore Johann Helgason had a pair of assists in the win over Duquesne to bring his team-leading total to four.
*San Diego State has recorded six shutouts in its first seven matches, the most in a season since the 1997 squad had six in 18 matches. The school record for shutouts in a season is 13, set by the 1988 squad that advanced to the final of the NCAA Tournament.
*Junior Raul Bautista's four goals already this year matches his most productive season at SDSU when he had four goals during the 2003 campaign.
*SDSU's six wins and a draw to begin the 2005 season is its best start since 1991 when the team began with seven straight wins. In addition to the 1991 campaign, the Aztecs have begun the season unbeaten in their first seven games on only three other occasions: 1979 (7-0), 1982 (7-0) and 1991 (7-0).