Dec. 29, 2009
SAN DIEGO - Following one of the best seasons in school history, the San Diego State women's soccer team was tabbed as the sixth most improved team in NCAA Division I, according to somissports.com. The Aztecs finished the 2009 campaign with a 15-4-5 record, one year after posting a 6-10-3 mark in 2008.
SDSU's rating was a 1.71, according to Somis Sports, and the Aztecs trailed only Maryland (2.58 rating), Oregon State (2.47), Santa Clara (2.19), DePaul (2.09) and George Mason (1.89). Of the top-25 most improved teams, San Diego State's nine-win improvement was tied for the second most with George Mason behind Santa Clara's 10-win improvement.
The website calculated a team's improvement by comparing its final 2009 rating to an adjusted 2008 rating. A team's rating roughly equates to net goals (goals scored minus goals against).
The Aztecs advanced to the second round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament after winning their first Mountain West Conference Tournament championship. En route to its second-round appearance, SDSU had won eight straight games and were unbeaten in 16 straight. San Diego State's 15 overall wins and NCAA berth were benchmarks that had not occurred since 1999. In fact, the Scarlet and Black's second round outing was the program's first since 1998, which also coincided with SDSU's last NCAA Tournament win.