March 7, 2006
SAN DIEGO -
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Aztecs Conclude Three-Match Homestand Against Long Beach State; Travel to UCLA
San Diego State (8-4; 2-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) closes out its longest homestand of the season against conference foe Long Beach State (9-6; 1-2 MPSF) Saturaday afternoon, March 11, at The Salvation Army Kroc Center. The match is set to get underway at noon PST.
The Aztecs are coming off two wins on March 4 that saw them average 20.5 goals per game. In the first match of the doubleheader, SDSU set a school record for goals in a game with its 24-5 league victory over Pacific. Seventeen of the 18 Aztecs on the roster scored at least one goal, including goalkeeper Sarah Kilgore, who saw time as a field player in the fourth quarter. In the second game of the day, San Diego State continued where it left off, posting a 17-6 win over Occidental College.
Following the game on Saturday, the Aztecs will make the trip to Los Angeles for a date with UCLA (14-2; 5-0 MPSF) at Sunset Canyon Rec Center.
24
SDSU set a school record for goals scored in a game on March 4, when it put up 24 against Pacific. It was just the seventh occurance in program history that an Aztec team scored at least 20 goals in a game. The 19-goal margin of victory is the third largest in SDSU history and the largest since Feb. 5, 1999, when the Aztecs defeated Central Florida by 20, 22-2, at the U.S. Senior Winter Championships at Princeton. SDSU's largest margin of victory of 21 came during a 22-1 win vs. UC Davis at the Pomona Tournament on March 25, 1995.
Balanced Attack
In the 24-5 rout of Pacific, the Aztecs received a balanced scoring attack as no player scored more than three goals and 17 of the team's 18 active roster players posted at least one goal. Erinn Greenwood led the squad with her first hat trick, while Anna Gonzales, Nicole Louie, Jenna Schuster, Ashling Taylor and Becca Ur each scored twice. Of the 12 remaining players of the roster, 11 scored a goal, including goalkeeper Sarah Kilgore, who saw time as a field player in the fourth quarter.
It was more of the same later in the afternoon against Occidental College as 11 different Aztecs contributed to the team's 17 goals. Gonzales led the way with five goals, while Elana Cervantes and Greenwood both added two.
Hot Shooting
In its two games on March 4 vs. UOP and Oxy, San Diego State shot a combined 64.1 percent (41-64) from the field. The Aztecs were just as impressive on 6-on-5 opportunities as they converted on 81.8 percent of its shot attempts (9-11), including a 4-for-4 effort against Occidental.
Goalkeeper Goal
It was not a mistake that Sarah Kilgore scored a goal in the MPSF match against Pacific. With the Aztecs leading 21-4, the goalkeeper exchanged her No. 1 cap for one labeled No. 19 and entered the game as a field player. Kilgore wound up scoring one goal, her first of her career, on her second shot attempt. She becomes the first SDSU goalie to record a goal since Curran Teigen scored twice during the 1999 season.
One For Every Finger
Freshman Anna Gonzales tallied five goals in the game vs. Occidental College, joining Rachel Serna as the only Aztecs to accomplish the feat this season. She is the first freshman since Dominique Delgado in 2002 to score five goals in a single contest. Gonzales becomes only the third freshman since the 2000 season to have posted five in a game.
Stingy Defense
The Aztecs' defense has been stingy so far through 12 contests as they have allowed an average of 6.0 goals per game. A major reason why SDSU ranks among the nation's elite is the way the Aztecs open and close games. Through 12 games, San Diego State is allowing an average of 1.08 goals in the first period (13 total). The Aztecs' fourth quarter performance is just as impressive allowing just 1.0 goals to close out contests (12 total).
Goalkeeper Sarah Kilgore, the Aztecs' last line of defense, has played well of late, accumlating 76 saves in 12 games. She ranks in the middle of the pack of the MPSF in goals against average (6th, 6.05) and saves (9th, 6.33).
Serna Scores
Rachel Serna has picked up where she left off from last year's All-America season where she scored the eighth-most goals in a season in school history (65) as she has already netted a team-leading 17 goals. Nationally, the senior from Coronado ranks 44th in scoring (as of March 1) and is 20th in the conference in goals per game.
Against No. 10 San Jose State in the seventh-place game of the Gaucho Invitational on Feb. 26, Serna scored five goals for the second time in her career in the 9-6 win. Oddly enough, the first time she scored five in game was at the Gaucho Invite one year ago to the day on Feb. 26, 2005, against UC Irvine. In both instances, the Aztecs were victorious.
Dropping Dimes
Elana Cervantes set the school record for assists in a season (56) last year and is well on her way to setting the school record. Former Aztec Dominique Delgado is the all-time leader with 126 and Cervantes is not far behind as she has recorded 96 in two-plus seasons. The junior from Davis, Calif., surpassed Holly Hartzell (95) for third all time in school history when she tallied three against Oxy.
Shoplifter
Similar to Rachel Serna and Elana Cervantes, Stacy Werner leads the team in steals after she led the 2005 squad with 53. So far this season, the junior has 25 steals for an average of 2.1 per game. She is also tied with Rachel Serna for second on the team in assists with 11 and fourth on the team in scoring with 10. She has 92 steals for her career and needs only 14 more to tie Rachel Scott for 10th all-time in SDSU history.
Freshman Contributions
This year's highly-touted freshman class has been counted on to contribute immediately and they have not disappointed. Four Aztecs have played in all 12 games (Anna Gonzales, Erinn Greenwood, Jenna Schuster and Ashling Taylor) with Gonzales receiving the starting nod in every game up to this point. Three other freshmen, Erin Lester (five games), Nicole Louie (five games) and Jessica Pace (six games) have also seen playing time throughout the course of the season. Combined, the class has accounted for 38 of the team's 104 goals (36.5 percent), 29 assists and 26 steals. Gonzales is the leading freshman goal scorer with 11, while Taylor is right behind her with 10 goals and led the team in scoring in three straight games earlier this year.
Scouting Long Beach State
Long Beach State visits "America's Finest City" with a 9-6 record (1-2 MPSF) having lost two straight on its most recent road trip to Northern California. The 49ers dropped a 9-5 decision to San Jose State and followed it with a 14-5 losing effort at Stanford, but were without its leading scorer Cassie Azevedo, who sat out both games due to medical reasons. Earlier this season at the Triton Invitational, the Aztecs held a 6-5 lead going into the final seven minutes, but could not hang on as LBSU held SDSU scoreless while scoring two goals of its own, to notch the 7-6 victory. The defeat cost the Aztecs a chance to play for the title and eventually took third place.
Scouting UCLA
UCLA, the defending national champions, is enjoying another stellar season as they have posted four consecutive wins and have a record of 14-2 overall and is 5-0 in MPSF play. In its most recent league match, the Bruins defeated California, 6-4, at home and followed it up with wins over UC San Diego and CS San Bernardino in a non-conference doubleheader this past weekend.