Oct. 2, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
Oregon State-San Diego State Final Box in PDF Format
With its four-game unbeaten streak on the line, San Diego State played Oregon State to a 1-1 draw Friday afternoon on day one of the Aztec Classic at SDSU Sports Deck. Despite playing through the humidity, first-half drizzle and partly cloudy skies, the Aztecs managed to extend their unbeaten streak to five and watched their record move to 6-3-3 on the year.
The Beavers (7-2-1) notched the first scoring opportunity of the game at 7:16 when Melissa Peck took a cross from Ashley Seal and had her point-blank attempt stopped by SDSU goalkeeper Aubree Southwick. Minutes later, Niki Fernandes dribbled the ball along the right side and found Tiffany Hurst, whose header was just high.
The action did not stop there as OSU's Brittany Galindo's cross was headed by Melinda Ingalis, who was just off the mark. Not seven minutes later at 24:16, Michaela DeJesus had her shot saved by Beaver keeper Colleen Boyd. With the ball still in Aztec territory, Tiffany Hurst blasted a shot, but her attempt was blocked along the way.
With fewer than seven minutes to play in the first half, Oregon State appeared to have scored the game's first goal, but offsides was called effectively wiping off the Beaver tally. After the first 45 minutes of action, the teams headed into the locker room scoreless.
As the match resumed, OSU's Rachael Axon found Galindo on the left side, who found the back of the net at 51:15, but again, the Beavers were caught offsides, thus taking the goal away. On the ensuing play, San Diego State took advantage of the opportunity as Fernandes beat a defender, broke through along the right side and had her left-footed shot find the upper left corner to give the Aztecs a 1-0 lead at 52:11. The goal was her third of the season and seventh point, both of which rank second on the team.
With SDSU owning a one-goal lead, the match became a possession battle that was played, for the most part, in the midfield. Both teams had their handful of shots, but neither had quality opportunities until 76:13 when Oregon State tied the game at 1-1 off a Brittney Sheffield header. The rest of regulation would see only two San Diego State shots before the match went into overtime.
In the first extra session, SDSU's top scoring chance came when Jessica Gordon passed the ball to DeJesus, who missed high at 94:49. After finishing 10 minutes of bonus soccer without a Golden Goal, the match extended into another 10-minute stanza that produced more of the same. Hurst had an opportunity to end the game, but her shot from 18 yards out went wide right. Following 110 minutes of action, the contest ended in a draw.
Individually, DeJesus and Hurst shared game-high honors with three total shots. DeJesus had a team-best two shots on goal. Southwick anchored another solid defensive effort for San Diego State as she recorded four saves. The junior goalkeeper and the SDSU defensive unit held its fifth straight opponent to one goal or less, a stretch where the Aztecs have gone 3-0-2.
San Diego State won the corner kick battle, 5-3, but was outshot 16-11. However, both schools had five shots on goal apiece. Oregon State finished the game with seven offsides penalties.
In game one of the Aztec Classic, UNLV rallied from a 1-0 deficit and defeated Seattle, 2-1. The Rebels' game-winning goal came in the 90th minute when Jenna Larkin scored on a breakaway.
The Aztec Classic continues on Sunday, Oct. 4, when Oregon State and UNLV get together at 11:30 a.m. at SDSU Sports Deck. San Diego State will close out the two-day event with a date against Seattle at 2 p.m.