Sept. 10, 2010
SAN DIEGO -
Redshirt junior Justin Davies (San Diego/Brooks School (Mass.)) followed his own shot for a tap-in goal in the 77th minute to lead the San Diego State men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Air Force at the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament Friday afternoon at SDSU Sports Deck. The Aztecs improved to 2-1-0 with their second straight victory, while the Falcons fell to 1-2-0. No. 12 UC Irvine won the first game of the tournament, 2-0, over Oakland.
SDSU's game-winning play began when senior captain Raymundo Reza (Denver, Colo.) slotted a pass past the Air Force defense to a breaking Davies, who timed the run perfectly. Davies first attempt, however, was stopped by Falcon goalkeeper Matt Underwood. The ball came back directly to Davies, who touched the ball into the net for his first career goal. Reza was credited with an assist on the play.
The goal was one of a few chances for Davies, who set a career-high and Aztec season-high with six shot attempts. Davies' first good chance came in the ninth minute when his right-footed one touch from 18 yards out missed right off a well delivered pass from senior captain Khadim Diouf (Dakar, Senegal). The pair hooked up again in the 63rd minute, but Davies close shot just missed the left post.
Sophomore Jose Altamirano (San Diego/Southwest HS) had the other quality scoring opportunity for San Diego State late in the first half (36th minute) when his shot off a set piece was deflected over the crossbar by a diving Underwood. Reza added three shots for victors, while redshirt junior Pedro Adan (San Diego/Preuss HS) had two attempts in his 2010 debut.
Each team had 15 shots in the game, but San Diego State arguably had the better scoring opportunities as most of AFA's attempts came from long range in non-threatening situations. In fact, Air Force's best chances came from 25 yards (71st minute by Kevin Durr), 22 yards (74th minute by Zane Dydasco) and 23 yards (82nd minute by Durr).
The Aztec defense stood tall throughout the game, keeping its composure despite playing three freshmen - Robbie Freise (Canyon Country, Calif.) Tyrone Martin (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Casey Meuser (Granite Bay, Calif.) - (along with junior captain Daniel Steres (Calabasas, Calif.)) for the final 74:40 of the match. Martin, in particular, stood out by winning ball after ball, controlling the back line and keeping the Falcon offense at bay. Martin and Steres have played all 270:55 this season for SDSU, which picked up its first shutout since Oct. 25, 2009 (seven matches).
Redshirt senior Brad Byrns (Alamo, Calif.) (2-1-0) made four saves to preserve the shutout. Byrns is now 15-8-7 over his career at San Diego State.
The Aztecs will continue their play in the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament Sunday at 4 p.m. PT when they take on Oakland.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Redshirt junior Justin Davies (San Diego/Brooks School (Mass.)) earned Man of the Match honors after scoring his first career goal for the game-winner in the 77th minute. Davies also set career highs in shots (six) and shots on goal (two), while playing all 90 minutes in the match.