Nov. 7, 2006
SAN DIEGO -
GAME NOTES | PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
No. 30 Aztec Men's Soccer Back in the NCAA Tournament; Travels to No. 17 UC Santa Barbara in Rematch of 2005 First Round Contest
The San Diego State men's soccer team opens NCAA tournament play on the road with a match against No. 17 UC Santa Barbara for the second consecutive season. The Aztecs (9-5-4), ranked No. 30 in the latest College Soccer News poll, finished second in the Pac-10 with a 5-2-3 record. The Gauchos (12-7-0) won the Big West regular season with a 7-3 record in conference play.
Aztec Quick Hits
- San Diego State is making its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament and eighth in school history. SDSU's best showing came in 1987 when it finished runner-up to Clemson in the national title match. The Aztecs are 9-5-1 in 15 career tournament games. Last year, the Aztecs fell to the Gauchos, 2-0, in Santa Barbara in front of 3,453 fans. San Diego State and UC Santa Barbara met earlier this season (Sept. 2) with the Gauchos scoring a second half goal en route to a 1-0 victory.
- San Diego State, in just its second season of Pac-10 play, finished second in the conference with a 5-2-3 record. The Aztecs, one of four Pac-10 teams to make the NCAA tournament, allowed only nine goals in league play, tied with Stanford for the lowest in the conference.
- The Aztecs are unbeaten (2-0-3) in their last five games, 5-2-3 (.650) over their last 10 contests and 7-3-4 (.643) over their last 14 matches.
- San Diego State is 3-3-2 against nationally ranked schools this season and have outscored its ranked opponents, 9-7.
- 15 of San Diego State's 18 matches (83.3 percent) this season have been decided by one goal or less. SDSU is 6-5-4 in those games.
- The Aztecs have played in seven overtime matches this season and are 2-1-4 (.571) in extra sessions. SDSU has played in 15 overtime games over the last two seasons, the most over a two-year span in school history.
- SDSU has scored 27 goals this season (18 games), the most since the 2003 team had 29 goals (20 games).
Scouting the Gauchos
UC Santa Barbara, the Big West regular season champions, come into the the NCAA first round match with the Aztecs with a 12-7-0 overall record, including wins in five of their last six contests.
Bongomin Otii (six goals, one assist) and Eric Avila (five goals, three assists) lead the Gauchos in scoring with 13 points each, respectively. Bryan Byrns (two goals, seven assists) and Nick Perera (four goals, two assists) each have double-figures in points as well. Kyle Reynish has played all 1,738-plus minutes in net and is 12-7 with a 0.83 goals against average and 11 shutouts.
SDSU leads the overall series, 17-11-3, but UCSB has won the last five meetings, including a 1-0 decision in early September. In that game, Otii scored the Gauchos' lone goal in the 56th minute. For the Aztecs, Kraig Chiles had three shot attempts and Tally Hall made five saves.
Aztecs and the NCAA Tournament
San Diego State is making its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament and eighth in school history. SDSU's best showing came in 1987 when it finished runner-up to Clemson in the national title match.
The Aztecs are 9-5-1 in 15 career tournament games and 0-1 against teams currently from the Big West Conference. SDSU has outscored its opponents, 23-19, all-time in NCAA tournament games.
Last year, the Aztecs fell to the Gauchos, 2-0, in Santa Barbara in front of 3,453 fans.
Dynamic Duo
Junior Kraig Chiles and senior Andrew DiCicco are turning heads across the Pac-10 Conference for their finishing abilities.
To say Chiles is important to the team is an understatement. Consider the following, the Aztecs are 7-0 when he records a point, 4-0 when he has at least one assist and 4-0 when he tallies a goal.
Chiles ranks third in the Pac-10 in game-winning goals (three), fifth in shots (42), fifth in goals (six) and is eighth in assists (four). Besides leading San Diego State in game-winning goals, shots and goals, Chiles is tops on the team in shots on goal (22) and is tied for first with four assists. He is also a perfect 3-for-3 in penalty kick attempts. Chiles was named to The Soccer Post/Aztec Classic All-Tournament Team on Aug. 27 and earned Man of the Match accolades for his two-goal, one-assist performance in SDSU's 2-1 victory over UNLV on Sept. 9.
DiCicco, who is playing his first season as a forward after playing his previous three in the midfield, is second on the squad in points (14) and goals (five), and is tied for first with his four assists. The 14 points and five goals have DiCicco ranked ninth in the Pac-10 in both categories, while his four assists are eighth in the conference. Coming into his senior season, DiCicco had only one goal and three assists for five points.
A tri-captain, DiCicco has been remarkably accurate with his strikes. DiCicco has scored on five of his 21 shots for a .238 shot percentage, second-highest on the team. His .571 shots-on-goal percentage is highest on the squad. Additionally, the Aztecs are 3-0-1 when DiCicco registers an assist. DiCicco has been named Man of the Match on two occasions, good enough for third on the team. He also was named to the USD/SDSU Soccer Classic All-Tournament Team earlier this season.
Together, the duo has connected for 37.0 percent (11-of-27) of the team's goals, 37.0 percent (30-of-81) of the team's points, 29.6 percent (8-of-27) of the team's assists and 29.6 percent (34-of-115) of the team's shots on goal. In addition, the Aztecs are 4-0 when both Chiles and DiCicco register at least one point in the game.
Head of the Class
Freshman Nick Cardenas is quietly putting together one of the finest freshman seasons in recent memory. He leads all freshman and is tied with junior Kraig Chiles for the team lead with six goals. His 12 points are third on the squad. Two of this six tallies are game-winners and his .250 shot percentage (six goals on 24 shots) is tops on the team. Additionally, SDSU is 5-0-1 when Cardenas scores a goal.
What may be even more remarkable is that Cardenas is a defender, having started in the backfield in all of the 17 games he has played in.
On Tuesday, Cardenas was named to the Top Drawer Soccer All-Rookie First Team (Evan Toft earned second-team honors).
Last week, Cardenas earned national recognition as he was named the NSCAA National Team Player of the Week, the first Aztec to ever receive the award. He also earned National Team of the Week honors by College Soccer News and Soccer America, in addition to being named the Pac-10 Player of the Week.
An early-October call up to the U.S. U-20 National Team Camp, Cardenas has been instrumental in leading a defense which has allowed only nine goals in league play, tied for the lowest with Stanford.
The Tally Hall Watch
Senior goalkeeper Tally Hall has been named to the 2006 Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List. The M.A.C. Hermann Award is given annually to the top collegiate player in the nation. The complete list of 25 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 9-4-4 with a 0.99 goals against average and 79.8 shots-on-goal save percentage. In league play, Hall is 5-1-3 (four shutouts) with a 0.72 goals against average and a 86.0 shots-on-goal save percentage, tops in the Pac-10.
Hall was named Co-Most Valuable Player of The Soccer Post/Aztec Classic and later garnered all-tournament accolades at the USD/SDSU Soccer Classic. On Sept. 26, he was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week for the first time in his career and on Oct. 2 he was selected to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week.
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.
Young and Talented in the Back
What the Aztec defense has been able to do, despite its youth, might even be more impressive. The defense has posted five shutouts in its last 13 games, despite having four underclassmen in the backfield start a combined 58 times of a possible 72 games, or 80.6 percent this season.
Freshman Nick Cardenas (17 starts) and sophomore Dennis Sanchez (18 starts) have started every game they have appeared in this year, while sophomore Danny Ortiz (17 starts) has started all but last Sunday's game against Stanford when six seniors started in their final home match. Freshman Steve Beitashour (six starts as a defender, three as a midfielder) has platooned with senior Ryan Reott (12 starts) as the other starting defender.
The defense has limited its opponents to just 195 shots (10.8 per game) on the season. To compare, SDSU's offense has fired 251 shots, or 13.9 per game. In addition, the defense has yielded no penalty kicks to the opposing team.
The defense has really come together in the competitive Pac-10 season. Through 10 league games, the Aztecs have allowed only nine goals, tied with the Stanford for the lowest in the conference, and have posted four shutouts.
An Offense to be Reckoned With
The SDSU offense is making a name for itself in 2006. Through 18 games, the Aztecs are averaging 1.50 goals per game after averaging just under a goal (0.97) per game last season and 0.81 goals per game in 2004.
Also, 14 different San Diego State players have registered a point this year, more than each of the last two seasons. In addition to the distribution of the wealth, SDSU's points, shot attempts, shots on goal and corner kicks have increased.
The chart on the right shows the difference in scoring through the first 18 games of each of the last three seasons.
Aztecs Ranked No. 30 by College Soccer News
Despite finishing second in the Pac-10 and tying nationally ranked UCLA in Los Angeles over the weekend, SDSU is ranked in only one poll this week. The Aztecs are ranked No. 30 in the latest College Soccer News poll, the first time they have been in the poll since Oct. 10.
San Diego State had been ranked as high as No. 21 by College Soccer News (Aug. 29), No. 22 by NSCAA/adidas (Oct. 31), No. 25 by Soccer America (Oct. 3) and receiving votes by Soccer Times (three occasions, most recent Oct. 31 - NOTE: Soccer Times most recent poll had yet to come out as of 11 a.m. Tuesday.)