Sept. 14, 2006
SAN DIEGO -
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Aztecs to Participate in USD Tournament
The San Diego State men's soccer team will host two games this weekend as part of the USD Tournament. On Friday, the Aztecs will take on Rider (3-2-1) at 2 p.m. SDSU will then play host to Long Island (2-4) at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Series History
*SDSU and Rider will be meeting for the first time this Friday. The match with the Broncs' will also be the Aztecs' first against a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) school.
*SDSU has played Long Island one time and came away with a 2-0 victory at home on Aug. 31, 2003. Current SDSU players Kraig Chiles (two shots) and Nick Clemens earned starts in the match. Raul Bautista and Tally Hall also logged minutes in the game.
Scouting the Opposition
*Rider comes into its match against the Aztecs with a 3-2-1 record and has won two of its last three games. Mike Juska leads the team in scoring with nine points on four goals and an assist. Dylan Matlock has two goals, and Daniel Riverso has logged over 566 minutes in net, posting a 1.90 goals against average and 68.4 save percentage.
*Long Island is 2-4 this season, but is coming off a 2-0 victory over NJIT on Sept. 10. Michael Marten (three goals) and Jukka Lehto (two goals) are the top offensive players for the Blackbirds. Jeremy Wimer (1-3-0, 2.11 GAA) and Alex Fatovic (1-1-0, 1.82 GAA) have split time in net.
Last Week With the Aztecs
UC Riverside 3, No. 27 San Diego State 2
The Aztecs fell at UC Riverside, 3-2, last Wednesday. Senior Andrew DiCicco and junior Freddy McDonald each scored for SDSU with assists going to junior Matt Lemire and sophomore Dennis Sanchez. Senior All-American goalkeeper Tally Hall made four saves for the Aztecs.
San Diego State 4, UNLV 2
Junior Kraig Chiles scored two goals and assisted on another in SDSU's 4-2 victory against UNLV on Sunday. Chiles scored on a penalty kick in the 18th minute, tallied another on header in the 33rd minute and set up Nick Cardenas for a goal in the 85th minute. DiCicco added a goal for the Aztecs while Sanchez picked up an assist in the match. Hall made two saves to preserve the win.
Aztecs Drop Out of College Soccer News Poll
The Aztecs fell from the College Soccer News Poll for the first time this season. SDSU opened with the No. 24 ranking and improved to No. 21 the next week. Last week the Aztecs were at No. 27 before falling out of the poll on Monday.
Of SDSU's 18 matches this season, eight are against teams currently ranked or receiving votes in the poll. The Aztecs have already played No. 14 UC Santa Barbara, and still have to play two games against No. 8 UCLA, 17th-ranked Washington and 23rd-ranked California, and a road match against UC Irvine, who are receiving votes in the latest poll.
The Fountain of Youth
Just because the 2006 Aztecs are a young squad (19-of-30 are underclassmen), that doesn't mean the talent isn't there.
Through five games, the SDSU underclassmen have attempted 50.6 percent (44-of-87) of the shots, have registered 34.5 percent (10-of-29) of the team's points and have scored 30 percent (3-of-10) of the goals. The underclassmen are also averaging 4.60 starts per game.
This really isn't surprising considering the last two recruiting classes by head coach Lev Kirshner and the rest of the Aztec staff. This year's recruiting class was ranked No. 17 by College Soccer News, a year after being mentioned in the top 40 (No. 39) by the same publication. The 22-place improvement is the largest jump of any school on either list.
In addition, College Soccer News named Daniel Ortega and Evan Toft to the 100 freshmen to keep an eye on list in 2006.
Tally Hall Named to M.A.C. Hermann Award Watch List
Senior goalkeeper Tally Hall has been named to the 2006 Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List for the 2006 season. The M.A.C. Hermann Award is give annually to the top collegiate player in the nation. The complete list of 25, announced by the Missouri Athletic Club, was compiled by a panel of coaches from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). Hall is one of 14 seniors and one of only three goalkeepers on the list.
Hall, an All-America selection by three publications last season, led the country with an 88.9 shots-on-goal save percentage and was second with a 0.49 goals against average in 2005. He was also selected first-team all-Pac-10 and all-Far West Region after setting a school record with 12 shutouts.
This season, Hall is 3-2 with a 1.60 goals against average and 66.7 shots-on-goal save percentage. He was named Co-Most Valuable Player of The Soccer Post/Aztec Classic after leading SDSU to a pair of victories.
Four Aztecs - Chris Keenan (1987), Marcelo Balboa (1988-89) and Kyle Whittemore (1988) - have been named Hermann Award finalists, but no SDSU athlete has ever won the award.
Aztecs Among Pac-10 Leaders
Through its first five games, many San Diego State players are ranked among the Pac-10 leaders.
Senior goalkeeper Tally Hall is tops in the conference with his 16 saves. Senior Andrew DiCicco is tied for second with three goals, while junior Matt Lemire, and sophomore Omar Persad and Dennis Sanchez are tied for second with two assists.