Sept. 21, 2009
SAN DIEGO - For the first time since September of the 2005 season, the San Diego State women's soccer team finds itself ranked in a regional poll. The Aztecs, who are coming off two wins this past weekend, are ranked 10th in the NSCAA/adidas Pacific Region Rankings along with Southern California and Mountain West foe New Mexico.
SDSU, unbeaten in its last three outings and winners of two straight, is 5-3-2 on the year and is 3-1-2 in its last six outings. Most recently, the Aztecs recorded their fourth shutout of the season in a 2-0 victory over Sacramento State this past Friday and beat the West Region's fourth-ranked squad in Long Beach State, 2-1, on Sunday. Earlier this season, San Diego State went on the road and downed Dartmouth, 1-0, a team that is currently receiving votes in the latest Mid-Atlantic Region poll.
The Aztecs have a golden opportunity to make noise within the region in the coming weeks with five straight matches at SDSU Sports Deck, a place where they are 7-1-1 against their last nine non-conference opponents. UC Irvine is next up for SDSU on Sunday, Sept. 27, and the Anteaters will come in sporting a No. 6 ranking in the West Region. After that, Oregon State will make a visit (Oct. 2) and the Beavers are currently one spot ahead of the Aztecs in the Pacific at No. 9. Following a date with Seattle, BYU and Utah will play the Aztecs on Montezuma Mesa. The Cougars are seventh in the Pacific, while the Utes are receiving votes.
So far this season, San Diego State has been competitive against teams in the Pacific Region. The Aztecs owned a 2-0 lead at top-ranked Stanford in the second half, but fell in heart-breaking fashion, and took No. 4 Arizona State to overtime on the road.
The last time SDSU made an appearance in a regional poll was Sept. 19, 2005, when it was ranked 14th in the West Region. The Aztecs were ranked as high as 11th that season on Sept. 12, 2005.