Nov. 2, 2007
BERKELEY, Calif. -
The No. 25 San Diego State men's soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision at No. 20 California Friday afternoon in Berkeley. The Aztecs (8-5-2, 4-3-0 Pac-10) had won the last three meetings against the Golden Bears (9-4-1, 4-2-0 Pac-10), including a 3-2 win on Oct. 12.
The loss was the first for SDSU against a nationally ranked team this season. San Diego State is now 3-1-2 against nationally ranked opponents, 5-3-1 against teams with .500 or above records (at time of game) and 2-2-1 against 2006 NCAA tournament teams.
The Aztecs outshot Cal, 11-10, for the contest, including a 7-5 advantage in the second half.
SDSU had many quality chances throughout the match, but was unable to find the back of the net. San Diego State yielded four of the first five shots in the game, but following an Andrew Wiedeman goal in the 15th minute, outshot the Bears, 10-6, over the final 75:47.
Senior Matt Lemire had a good chance in the first half when he found himself one-on-one with a Cal defender. When Lemire cut towards the net, however, the defender was able to knock the ball free and out of harm's way.
Early in the second half, sophomore Matt McManus had a quality attempt but ripped his shot just over the crossbar. Senior Kraig Chiles (San Diego/Poway HS), who came into the match leading the Pac-10 in points, took a pass from sophomore Jamel Wallace (San Diego/Oceanside HS) in the 67th minute but had his semi-breakaway chance stopped by the Bears' goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
Sophomore Steve Beitashour had maybe San Diego State's best chance of the game in the 73rd minute when his blast from 15 yards out hit the post.
Frei came up big once again for California with a solid stop on another Chiles shot in the 80th minute. Frei continued his impressive play in net with a nice save on senior Freddy McDonald's final attempt of the game at the 89:02 mark.
McManus had a team-high three shots for the Aztecs, while Chiles and junior Dennis Sanchez had two attempts apiece.
Junior goalkeeper Jorge Rosales (2-3) played all 90 minutes in net and made five saves for the Aztecs.
SDSU will wrap up its five-game streak away from San Diego with a game at Stanford at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Sophomore Steve Beitashour earned Man of the Match honors for his brilliant play in the midfield. Beitashour played 78 minutes in the midfield and had his lone shot in the 73rd minute hit the post.