Oct. 25, 2007
PROVO, Utah - Playing on a neutral site Thursday night on the campus of BYU in Provo, Utah, the San Diego State women's soccer team battled New Mexico to 0-0 draw after two overtimes. The contest, originally scheduled to take place at the SDSU Sports Deck, was moved to BYU's South Stadium due to the wildfires throughout San Diego County.
With heavy hearts for their friends and family back in San Diego, the Aztecs took the field and relied on their defense and goalkeeping to control the tempo of the game. The Lobos, who where averaging over 15 shots a contest, were limited by SDSU to only 13 shot attempts.
Freshman Aubree Southwick saved seven New Mexico shots on her way to recording her third consecutive shutout. The Danville, Calif., native has blanked nine opponents this season, placing her third on the program's all-time single season record list.
"This game was a struggle, especially in the first half," head coach Mike Friesen said. "Our energy level to start was not where it usually is, but we were able to turnaround in the second half and create more scoring chances.
"Our defense played great once again, but we weren't able to take advantage of our chances to score."
Offensively, SDSU was led by seniors Lisa Nielsen and Jackie Ragudos who each attempted two shots. Nielsen's best attempt just missed crossing the goal line in the 56th minute while Ragudos' quality chance off of sophomore Megan Konishi's throw in was turned back with just over three minutes left in the second overtime by New Mexico's Shannon Adragna.
SDSU had two more chances to get on the scoreboard go astray in a span of six minutes in the second half. Beginning in the 70th minute, senior Jessica Girdner missed wide on two shots attempts for her second game winning goal of the year.
The tie leaves the Aztecs' Mountain West Conference record at 3-1-1, 8-6-3 overall. New Mexico now owns a 7-4-4 overall record, 1-2-2 in the MWC.
The Scarlet and Black wrap up the road portion of its 2007 schedule on Sunday against Utah in Salt Lake City. Kickoff between the Aztecs and Utes is slated for 1 p.m. MT. The game will be televised on The Mtn.-The Mountain West Sports Network with Bill Riley and Tammy Blackburn on the call.