Sept. 11, 2006
SAN DIEGO -
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SDSU Women's Soccer to Play Three Matches This Week
The San Diego State women's soccer team will be busy this week with three matches on the schedule. At 4 p.m. Tuesday, the Aztecs (3-3) will host Cal State Fullerton (2-1-1), their third opponent in the last five games, before welcoming Creighton (3-3-1) at 4 p.m. Friday. The Jays are SDSU's fifth opponent this year who advanced to the 2005 NCAA tournament. The Aztecs wrap up their week with a road game against Cal Poly (3-3) at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Series History
*SDSU is 7-2 all-time against Cal State Fullerton, including a 2-0 win, in Fullerton, in the team's opener last season. In the last six meetings, the Aztecs have outscored the Titans, 16-9.
*The Aztecs and Creighton will be meeting for the first time on Friday. SDSU has never faced a team from the Missouri Valley Conference.
*SDSU and Cal Poly have met on three occasions with the Aztecs owning a 2-1 edge. The Mustangs won the last meeting between the two schools by a score of 3-1 in San Luis Obispo, Calif., on Sept. 11, 1998.
Scouting the Opposition
*Cal State Fullerton is off to a 2-1-1 start. Having been nationally ranked for much of the season, the Titans have outscored their opponents, 7-3. Candice Byler and Desiree Flint each have two goals to lead Cal State Fullerton, while its top goalkeeper is Karen Bardsley (2-1-1, 0.69 GAA).
*Creighton is 3-3-1 in 2006 and is coming off a 2-0 win over Western Michigan on Sunday. Toch Ihemelu leads the squad in scoring with three goals, while goalkeeper Kristen Casey has seen the bulk of playing time and has posted a 2-2-1 record with a 1.11 goals against average.
*Cal Poly comes into its meeting with the Aztecs with an identical 3-3 record. Including in its three wins was a 2-1 overtime win over No. 20 Pepperdine on Aug. 27. Kelsey Carroll and Ashley Vallis each have three goals to lead the Mustangs. Alli Tramel is 3-3 with a 1.16 goals against average for Cal Poly.
Last Weekend With the Aztecs
SDSU went 1-1 over the weekend at the UC Irvine Puma Classic. On Friday night, sophomore Jen Mello scored twice and freshman Jessica Gordon had her first career tally in the Aztecs' 3-1 win over the host Anteaters. On Sunday, SDSU fell to UC Riverside, 1-0, despite outshooting the Highlanders, 13-5.
A Scoring Machine
The Aztecs are averaging 1.5 goals per game through their first six matches. The past two seasons, SDSU has increased its scoring average from 0.76 in 2004 to 1.23 in 2005. The Aztecs haven't scored more than 29 goals in a season since 2002, when they found the net 39 times.
The Mello And Sutton Connection
They're back... A year after leading the team in scoring as freshmen an accounting for 44.6 percent of the team's points, sophomores Jen Mello and Erika Sutton could have an even better season in 2006.
Over the course of the last two seasons, the Aztecs are 11-2 (2-0 in 2006) when Sutton records at least one point, 8-2 (2-0 in 2006) when Mello does the same and 6-1 (1-0 in 2006) when each contributed at least one point.
The sophomore duo has scored 66.7 (6-of-9) percent of the team's goals, 60.0 (3-of-5) of the squad's assists and 65.2 (15-of-23) percent of its points.
Earlier this season, Sutton became the fourth Aztec to be named to the Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week and also earned MWC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Last season, Sutton earned Soccer Buzz Freshman All-Far West Region accolades and was named second-team all-MWC.
The Ball Stops Here
Junior Cat Burson is off to another fine season as the team's starting goalkeeper. The Poway, Calif., native is 3-3 with a 0.83 goals against average and 83.9 save percentage.
She shut out both Butler and No. 21 Purdue in August and needs only two more shutouts to tie her season total from last year. For her performance, she was named to the Purdue Boilermaker all-tournament team.
Aztec Notes
*All nine goals this year for SDSU have come from an underclassmen.
*The Aztecs have started eight underclassmen in all six games this season.
*SDSU has outshot its opponents, 96-60, and has a 34-23 advantage in corner kicks.
*24 Aztecs have seen playing time this year.
*SDSU hosts just six matches this season with half (three) against MWC opponents.