Sept. 14, 2007
SAN DIEGO - Sophomore defender Millie Allen connected on a second half penalty kick for the Aztecs' lone goal and freshman Aubree Southwick recorded her third consecutive shutout, as the San Diego State women's soccer team upended Cal Poly, 1-0, on Friday at the SDSU Sports Deck for its second win of the season.
Allen registered her first career goal at the 67:58 mark after the Mustang goalkeeper Alli Tramel fouled SDSU freshman Britney Bennett on a breakaway.
"This was a very big victory for us against a physical team," said head coach Mike Friesen. "Cal Poly is an extremely disciplined team, so I'm very happy that we were able to step up and find a way to get back into the game after only getting three shots in the first half."
Southwick shined once again for the Aztecs (2-1-2) in the net. The Danville, Calif., native pushed her personal scoreless streak to 376 minutes after saving nine Mustang shots. Southwick became the first Aztec goalie since Sophia Perez in 2004 to record three consecutive shutouts.
"We gave up some quality shots today and Aubree came up huge," Friesen said. "She did an excellent job as well as our entire back line. They all get credit when we can keep teams from scoring for over 370 minutes."
Both teams were very physical throughout as each tallied three yellow cards. Cal Poly recorded the edge on penalties, 20-14, while SDSU had three players leave the field due to injury.
No foul was more costly than Tramel's interference on Bennett's breakaway. When it came down to selecting the penalty kicker, the choice was obvious for Friesen.
"Millie (Allen) is a real solid ball striker and some one we can count on to step up," Friesen said. "During fall camp, we practiced penalty kicking and gave the players the motivation that if they could get one through the keeper then they wouldn't have to do extra running. Millie stepped up every time and I was confident she would come through during the game."
The Scarlet and Black will finish its two-game homestand at the SDSU Sports Deck on Sunday against Pac-10 power California. The game versus the No. 23 Bears is scheduled to kick off at noon.