Sept. 3, 2010
SAN DIEGO -
Detroit-San Diego State Final Box in PDF Format
San Diego State, which was fresh off a school-record-long season-opening four-game road trip, returned to SDSU Sports Deck for its home season opener and settled for a 1-1 double-overtime tie with Detroit. The draw puts the Aztecs' record at 1-3-1, while the Titans watch their record move to 2-1-1.
The Scarlet and Black dominated in all facets of the game, but was still forced to rally to push the match into overtime.
The first 45 minutes of the game were uneventful. San Diego State limited Detroit to a harmless shot, which was not on net, and had four shots of its own, with two coming on net. The pair on-goal were both taken by Megan Jurado, the second of which occurred right before the halftime buzzer and was saved easily by Titan goalkeeper Nora Abolins.
The second half and overtime, however, was the complete opposite of the first period. After returning from the locker room, the Aztecs found their rhythm offensively and created multiple scoring chances. The first opportunity came in the 50th minute when Zoe Carroll blasted a shot to the left side of the goal and it took a diving save by Abolins to prevent SDSU from denting the scoreboard first. Then over the course of the next nine minutes, the Aztecs kept the ball in Detroit territory and attempted five more shots. The Titans' first shot attempt of the second half, meanwhile, did not occur until the 62nd minute.
San Diego State continued to put pressure on the visitors, but could not find the back of the net. After Detroit's shot in the 62nd minute, the Aztecs owned a 5-0 advantage in shots and controlled the pace of the match.
For all of SDSU's work, the game was still scoreless in the 84th minute and the Titans earned a corner kick. Sarah Dzuris put the ball in play and the Aztecs were unable to clear the ball, effectively giving Detroit another possession. Alyssa Korson corralled the ball, passed it to Kaitlyn Quarrell, who in turn found Abby McCollum, who put her shot past Aubree Southwick and into the lower left-hand corner of the net.
Facing a 1-0 deficit and 5:49 left in regulation, San Diego State began to pick up the pace and was awarded a corner kick. Megan Erskine took the kick and headed the ball toward the net, but her attempt was blocked. Then on the clear out, Southwick, who came out of the box and ended up near the mid-field circle, trapped the ball and found Haley Palmer. The freshman gathered the pass, touched it once, found herself with a one-on-one opportunity with the keeper and cashed in from 10 yards out in the 87th minute. The equalizer and overtime-forcing tally was the Windsor, Calif., native's first career goal.
In the first overtime stanza, SDSU continued its aggressive play, outshooting Detroit, 3-0, but was denied each time. Then in the final 10 minutes, the Aztecs applied even more pressure with five shots, while keeping the Titans at bay as the match finished in a draw after 110 minutes.
For the game, San Diego State outshot Detroit, 25-5, and held an 11-3 advantage in shots on goal. In fact, the Aztecs outshot the Titans 8-0 in the final 10:08 and 10-1 in final 14:11. SDSU also won the corner-kick battle, 8-5.
Individually for San Diego State, Jurado had a career- and team-high eight shots, including a personal-best five on goal. Carroll, meanwhile, attempted four shots and Erskine had three of her own. Palmer, who scored the game-tying goal, was credited with two shots, which were both on goal. Southwick had a relatively quiet afternoon with two saves.
SDSU continues its four-game homestand on Sunday when it plays host to Utah State. Start time is set for noon PT at SDSU Sports Deck.