Aug. 31, 2007
OMAHA, Neb. -
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Despite playing a man down for the final 69:33 of the game, the No. 21 San Diego State men's soccer team opened its 2007 season with an impressive 2-2, double-overtime tie at No. 17 Creighton on Friday night in Omaha, Neb., before an announced crowd of 3,716.
Junior transfer Myles Davis was given a red card just 40:27 into the match, forcing the Aztecs (0-0-1) to play with 10 men for the remainder of the game.
SDSU, however, responded and took the lead midway through the second half on a goal by sophomore College Soccer News preseason All-American Nick Cardenas. Cardenas, the 2006 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, took a cross from classmate Evan Toft at the 67:35 mark and headed the ball into the back of the net from seven yards out. All seven of Cardenas' career tallies have been headers.
Tony Schmitz tied the game for the Bluejays (0-0-1) in the 76th minute when his low line drive shot beat Aztec redshirt freshman Brad Byrns to his left side.
Byrns, playing in his first career collegiate game, shined in the net and made many quality saves. He finished the game with six stops and actually allowed only one Creighton tally.
The Bluejays, who have advanced to 15 straight NCAA tournaments and have played in three College Cups, got on the scoreboard first at just 1:28 into the match when a San Diego State defender accidentally headed the ball into its own net. The shot was credited as an own goal.
Senior co-captain Kraig Chiles blasted a free kick from 25 yards out into the right side of the net in the 20th minute to tie the game at 1-1 for SDSU. Chiles, the team leading scorer in each of the last two seasons, finished the game with two shots along with sophomore Kyle Crain. Cardenas led the squad with three shots, including two on goal.
Creighton came into the game ranked as high as No. 17 by College Soccer News, while San Diego State is ranked No. 21 by Top Drawer Soccer.
The Aztecs will open their home slate on Monday with a match again UC Riverside at 4 p.m. on SDSU Sports Deck.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Senior co-captain Kraig Chiles earned Man of the Match honors after playing a solid, all-around game in the midfield for the Aztecs. He got SDSU on the board with a goal in the 20th minute and had two shots in the match. Chiles has now started a team-high 40 consecutive games.