Nov. 3, 2006
LOS ANGELES - The No. 22 San Diego State men's soccer team clinched sole possession of second place in the Pac-10 with a 1-1, double-overtime tie at No. 10 UCLA in Los Angeles on Friday night. The Aztecs (9-5-4 overall) finished the Pac-10 regular season with a 5-2-3 record, while the Bruins (9-5-4 overall) wrapped up conference play at 4-3-3.
SDSU is now unbeaten (2-0-3) in its last five games, 5-2-3 (.650) over its last 10 contests and 7-3-4 (.643) over its last 14 matches. The Aztecs are also 3-3-2 against nationally ranked teams in 2006, owning a 9-7 scoring advantage.
UCLA got on the scoreboard first at 25:56 when David Estrada headed in a rebound from Jason Leopoldo.
Aztec freshman Nick Cardenas, however, came back less than four minutes later to tie the game at 1-1 for San Diego State in the 30th minute with a header off a corner kick from classmate Evan Toft. It was the second straight game Cardenas, who earlier this week was named the NSCAA National Player of the Week and Pac-10 Player of the Week, and Toft teamed up for a tally. It was the third consecutive game Cardenas scored a goal and the sixth tally of the season for the defender.
SDSU outshot the Bruins, 3-1, in the 20 minutes of overtime, but was unable to score the game-winning goal.
The Aztecs had most of the scoring chances in the game, including a shot by Cardenas and follow-up attempt by Toft in the 69th minute that was stopped by UCLA's diving goalkeeper Brian Perk.
Cardenas had two shots in the match for SDSU, while five others contributed one shot apiece.
Senior All-American goalkeeper Tally Hall made five saves for the Aztecs, including a diving stop in the third minute of the second overtime to preserve the 1-1 tie. In nine Pac-10 games this season, the tri-captain is 5-1-3 with a 0.72 goals against average and 86.0 shots-on-goal save percentage.
SDSU will await a possible NCAA tournament berth, which will be announced on ESPNews between 1 and 2 p.m. PST on Monday.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Freshman Nick Cardenas earned Man of the Match honors after scoring his third goal in as many games off a header from classmate Evan Toft. His six goals are tied for tops on the team with junior Kraig Chiles.
NOTES: SDSU finished second in the Pac-10 in only its second year in the conference ... Last year, the Aztecs were tied with Washington for fourth ... All six of D Nick Cardenas' goals this year have been headers ... The Aztecs are 5-0-1 when Cardenas scores.