Sept. 4, 2008
SAN DIEGO -
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SDSU Men's Soccer Kicks Off 2008 Season This Weekend; Hosts Michigan, Albany in The Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament
The San Diego State men's soccer begins its 2008 season this weekend when it co-hosts the first annual The Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament. The Aztecs will face Big Ten power Michigan in their opener on Friday at 4 p.m. on SDSU Sports Deck, before meeting Albany at 1 p.m. Sunday. San Diego is the other host of the four-team tourney.
Aztec Quick Kicks
- San Diego State returns 10 of its 11 starters and 16 letterwinners from the 2007 squad that went 8-7-4 overall. The Aztecs finished their third season of Pac-10 play with a 4-4-2 mark, good enough for a tie for second place with UCLA and Stanford. In the team's three years of Pac-10 soccer, San Diego State finished fifth in 2005, and runner-up in each of the past two campaigns (2006-07).
- SDSU is picked to finish fifth in the Pac-10 Conference, despite returning 10 of its 11 starters. The Aztecs picked up 11 points, two behind fourth-place Washington (13). California was selected to repeat as league champions with 24 points, including four of the six first-place votes. The Golden Bears were followed by UCLA (20 points) and Stanford (17 points), which each picked up one first-place vote. The Huskies (13), San Diego State (11) and Oregon State (5) rounded out the conference.
- Junior defender Nick Cardenas was named to the 2008 Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List for the upcoming season. Considered the highest individual honor in intercollegiate soccer, the recipients of the MAC's Hermann Trophy are selected by Division I head coaches who are current members of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). Cardenas is one of 11 defenders and 18 juniors on the list. Cardenas, a two-time NSCAA/adidas all-Far West team selection and all-Pac-10 pick, has eight goals and two assists over his first two seasons.
- SDSU is opening the season at home for the sixth time in head coach Lev Kirshner's nine-year tenure. The Aztecs are 3-2-0 in homer openers under Kirshner, outscoring the opposition, 10-5. San Diego State is 29-8-3 (.763) all-time in season-opening matches.
Scouting the Wolverines
Michigan is off to a 2-0-0 start after claiming both games at the Michigan/Oakland Invitational last weekend. On Friday, the Wolverines downed Wisconsin-Green Bay in a wild 4-3 games. On Sunday, Michigan knocked off Pac-10 foe Oregon State, 4-0.
The Wolverines are led offensively by Perica Marosevic and Jake Stacy, who combined for five goals and an assist last weekend. Marosevic's three goals gave him the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week award, while Stacy added two goals and an assist. Patrick Sperry has played all 180 minutes in net and is 2-0 with a 1.50 goals against average and a shutout.
Michigan, which spent much of the year in the national polls last year, are receiving votes in three polls this season, including the College Soccer News, NSCAA/adidas, Soccer Times and Top Drawer Soccer.
Friday will the first-ever meeting between the two schools. SDSU last played a Big Ten school on Sept. 17, 2004, when it dropped a 2-0 decision to Michigan State. Overall, the Aztecs are 1-3-1 versus schools from the Big 10.
A Glance at the Great Danes
Like Michigan, Albany is off to a 2-0-0 start to the season after winning the Robert Morris Invitational a week ago. The Great Danes, who are coached by former Aztec Johan Aarnio (1978), defeated Pittsburgh, 2-1, on Friday and edged Robert Morris, 1-0, in Sunday's match.
Claudio Dantas scored all three goals for Albany and was honored by being named the America East Co-Player of the Week and MVP of the Robert Morris Invitational. Dantas was joined on the all-tournament team by Erik DeLorenzo, Konner McNamara (one assist) and Mike Peters. Steward Ceus (1-0, 0.00 GAA, 4 SVS) and Adrian Foncette (1-0, 1.00, 3 SVS) each played 90 minutes last weekend.
The Great Danes and the Aztecs will be meeting for the third time, with SDSU claiming each of the first two matches. San Diego State defeated Albany, 2-0, on Sept. 28, 2003 and 3-2 on Aug. 25, 2006. The Great Danes are the only America East Conference team the Aztecs have ever played.
Junior Nick Cardenas Named to 2008 M.A.C Hermann Trophy Watch List
Junior defender Nick Cardenas (Thornton, Colo.) has been named to the 2008 Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List for the upcoming season. Considered the highest individual honor in intercollegiate soccer, the recipients of the MAC's Hermann Trophy are selected by Division I head coaches who are current members of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). Cardenas is one of 11 defenders and 18 juniors on the list.
Cardenas, a two-time NSCAA/adidas all-Far West team selection and all-Pac-10 pick, has eight goals and two assists over his first two seasons. The 2006 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and an U.S. U-20 National Team Camp call-up, Cardenas has started all 36 games he has appeared in, anchoring a defense that has posted 13 shutouts over the past two years.
A list of 15 semifinalists will be selected by a coaches committee in November, with three finalists announced in early December. They will invited to the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis, Mo., for a news conference on Jan. 9, 2009, where the winner will be announced, with a presentation banquet following.
Three Aztecs - Chris Keenan (1987), Marcelo Balboa (1988-89) and Kyle Whittemore (1988) - have been named Hermann Award finalists, but no SDSU athlete has ever won the award. Most recently, Tally Hall was a semifinalist in 2006.
Aztecs Picked to Finish Fifth in Pac-10
Despite returning 10 starters, including five all-conference selections, from last season's runner-up squad, the San Diego State men's soccer team has been picked to finish fifth in the Pac-10 Conference in the preseason poll voted on by the league's coaches Wednesday.
SDSU picked up 11 points, two behind fourth-place Washington (13). California was selected to repeat as league champions with 24 points, including four of the six first-place votes.
The Golden Bears were followed by UCLA (20 points) and Stanford (17 points), which each picked up one first-place vote. The Huskies (13), Aztecs (11) and Oregon State (5) rounded out the conference.
Last season, San Diego State finished 8-7-4 overall and 4-4-2 in Pac-10 play, ending up in a three-way tie for second with Stanford and UCLA.
SDSU, which has never been picked higher than fourth in its four preseason polls, has finished the season better than each of its predicted finishes. In its inaugural Pac-10 season in 2005, the Aztecs were picked sixth, yet managed a fourth-place finish. San Diego State finished second in each of its past two seasons despite being picked fourth and fifth, respectively, in the preseason poll.
A Look at the Captains
Danny Ortiz and Dennis Sanchez will be looked upon to provide leadership and guidance to the 2008 Aztecs.
The two seniors were named co-captains after being the backbone of the team's defense each of the past two seasons. The two bring experience to The Mesa, combining for 101 appearances and 85 starts.
No other Aztec has started more than Ortiz (36) over the past two seasons, while Sanchez is the most experienced on the squad with 54 appearances and 49 starts. Both players were named to the all-Pac-10 honorable mention squad after the 2006 season.
"Danny is a phenomenal young man," head coach Lev Kirshner said. "He is everything you want in an Aztec - a student, good athlete, good person, talented player, a terrific leader.
"Dennis is a mainstay in the program. His workrate is tireless and he will do whatever it takes to win games. I'm just excited to have him finish his career on the right note, wearing the armband and helping us win championships."
In With the New
SDSU welcomes seven players to the team this season, all with the talent to immediately make an impact. Leading the way are two redshirt freshmen transfers in R.J. Smith (UC Davis) and Danny Stott (St. John's), and redshirt freshmen Justin Davies and Santigui Tounkara.
At 6-4 and 195 pounds, Smith (San Diego, Calif./Granite Hills HS) boasts many physical similarities in net to former Aztec All-American Tally Hall. Stott (Bolton, England) brings a host of international experience to San Diego State as a decorated player in England. Like Smith, Stott utilized his redshirt season in 2007.
Davies (San Diego, Calif./Brooks School (Mass.)) and Tounkara (Sherbrooke, QC, Canada/Gateway HS (Colo.)) each played spring ball for SDSU after becoming early admits. Davies led the squad in assists in spring ball and should challenge for a starting job this fall. Tounkara is also expected to see significant minutes in the midfield.
Other newcomers on the squad include true freshmen Joe Corona (San Diego, Calif./Sweetwater HS), Chance Marden (Fremont, Calif./Washington HS) and Daniel Steres (Calabasas, Calif./Calabasas HS).
At the Helm
Lev Kirshner enters his ninth year at head coach and 12th season overall. Kirshner, just one of three coaches in the 40-year history of the program, has brought SDSU back to the national spotlight with back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Pac-10 and two trips to the NCAA tournament in the past three seasons.
Since the men's soccer team earned its full allotment of scholarships in 2005, the Aztecs have gone 26-17-14 (.579), including an 11-9-10 (.533) mark in the Pac-10.
Over his eight seasons, Kirshner has coached two All-America selections, three Academic All-America picks, eight professional players, five all-Far West selections and 33 all-conference picks.
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