Sept. 27, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
The San Diego State men's soccer team captured its second straight tournament by shutting out Princeton, 1-0, Sunday afternoon at SDSU Sports Deck. SDSU (3-2-2) is now unbeaten over its last five contests (3-0-2).
The Aztecs went an impressive 2-0-0 in the four-team tournament that featured two nationally ranked schools and another with national votes. San Diego State defeated UC Santa Barbara, which is ranked as high as No. 6 by Top Drawer Soccer, by a 4-2 score on Friday. The Gauchos (6-2-1) finished second in the tourney after knocking off No. 25 UC Irvine, 1-0, Sunday night, while UCI (6-3-0) took third, winning a 2-1 match over Princeton (4-3-0) on Friday. It was the first time SDSU has won both of its tournaments in head coach Lev Kirshner's 10-year tenure.
Senior Evan Toft (Aurora, Colo.), who earned Most Valuable Offensive Player honors of the tournament, scored the game's only goal in the 56th minute off an assist from redshirt senior Steve Beitashour (San Jose, Calif.). On the play, Beitashour sent in a cross from the left side that Tiger goalkeeper Sean Lynch just barely punched out to Toft's feet. Toft tucked it into the left side of the net from eight yards for his team-leading fourth goal of the season. Toft has at least one point in four consecutive matches.
The goal was one of 11 shot attempts for the Aztecs. Freshman Jose Altamirano (San Diego/Southwest HS) had a team-best four shots, while Toft had two. Junior Raymundo Reza (Denver, Colo.), who scored two goals and assisted on another in San Diego State's win on Friday, added a shot attempt, as did junior Khadim Diouf (Dakar, Senegal), redshirt sophomore Andre Acevedo (San Diego/Eastlake HS) and freshmen Devon Sandoval (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Morgan Sacco (Greeley, Colo.).
Redshirt junior Brad Byrns (Alamo, Calif.) (3-2-1) played all 90 minutes in net with a game-high four saves for his first shutout of the season. Byrns' best stop arguably came in the 78th minute when he made a diving save on Josh Walburn's long attempt.
Beitashour, senior preseason All-American Nick Cardenas (Thornton, Colo.), redshirt senior Jamel Wallace (San Diego/Oceanside HS) and sophomore Daniel Steres (Calabasas, Calif.) stood tall in San Diego State's defensive backfield, playing all 90 minutes and winning almost every challenge to earn the team's first shutout this year.
The first half of the game featured a combined eight shots (two on goal) and five corner kicks (four by the Aztecs) with SDSU playing possession soccer and controlling the midfield.
Following Toft's goal at the 55:01 mark, freshman Devon Sandoval nearly made it a two-goal lead in the 71st minute but his shot was corralled nicely by Princeton goalkeeper Sean Lynch.
The Tigers best scoring chance came with four minutes left when Matt Sanner's attempt from just outside the 18-yard box went high and right of the frame.
San Diego State's Cardenas was named the tournament's most valuable defensive player, while Toft picked up the offensive honors. Beitashour, Reza and Wallace each garnered all-tournament team accolades.
The Aztecs will ride the momentum of their five-game unbeaten streak into the Pac-10 season, which begins Friday at Washington (7:30 p.m. PT). So far, SDSU's opponents have gone a collective 60-31-13 (.639) (according to GoCollegeSoccer.com with LMU game yet to finish at press time), while its Pac-10 foes are a combined 24-10-3 (.689).
MAN OF THE MATCH: Redshirt senior Steve Beitashour (San Jose, Calif.) earned Man of the Match honors for his impressive play on the backline. Beitashour logged all 90 minutes in the shutout and routinely kept the Tigers off the scoreboard. He knocked balls out of traffic and did a great job of 1-v-1 defending. Beitashour also had the game-winning assist on Evan Toft's goal in the 56th minute.
Nike Aztec Soccer Classic
San Diego, Calif.
Final Tournament Results
1. San Diego State (2-0-0)
2. UC Santa Barbara (1-1-0)
3. UC Irvine (1-1-0)
4. Princeton (0-2-0)
Offensive MVP - Evan Toft, San Diego State
Defensive MVP - Nick Cardenas, San Diego State
All-Tourney Team
Steve Beitashour, San Diego State
Raymundo Reza, San Diego State
Jamel Wallace, San Diego State
Sam Hayden, UC Santa Barbara
Martin Hedevag, UC Santa Barbara
Michael Nonni, UC Santa Barbara
Luis Silva, UC Santa Barbara
Corey Attaway, UC Irvine
Irving Garcia, UC Irvine
Jonathan Prieto, UC-Irvine
Mark Linnville, Princeton University
Devin Muntz, Princeton University