Oct. 23, 2010
PROVO, Utah -
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San Diego State was forced to compete with 10 players for more than a half and ultimately fell at No. 13 BYU, 1-0, Saturday night at South Field. The loss drops the Aztecs to 6-9-3 overall and 4-2 in the Mountain West Conference. The Cougars, meanwhile, improve to 13-2-1 (4-1-1 MWC) on the season.
"I'm proud of the way we competed tonight," head coach Mike Friesen said. "We showed a lot of character and played through adversity. We're playing well and look forward to closing out the conference season a strong note, especially with the Mountain West tournament on our home field."
SDSU applied most of the pressure on the offensive side of the ball in the first half and as a result, enjoyed a 6-0 advantage in corner kicks and held an advantage in shots for most of the half before finishing even at 7-7.
Even after multiple set-piece opportunities, the Aztecs could not find the back of the net. San Diego State's top chance came in the 29th minute when freshman Megan Erskine ripped a shot that hit the cross bar.
On the ensuing possession, a foul was called on San Diego State, awarding a free kick to the hosts. The Cougars sent the ball into in the box from the right side and was knocked down, but not cleared. Unfortunately for the Aztecs, Carlee Payne took advantage of the situation and scored what would be the game-winner at 31:07.
Leading 1-0 and the half coming to a close, BYU sent a ball in that made its way past the SDSU backline. What looked to be a 50-50 ball, Aztec senior goalkeeper Aubree Southwick and Payne collided. Following the contact, Southwick was called for a foul and hit with a red card. The event led to Southwick's ejection and the Aztecs playing with just 10 players for the remaining 48:58. Sophomore Megan Allaire replaced the all-time MWC saves leader in goal.
In the second half, San Diego State continued to play well on both sides of the field. Defensively, the Aztecs held the Cougars off the scoreboard while playing with 10 players. On the offensive side, SDSU continued to force the action and earned six more corner kicks, but were unlucky. At the final horn, the Aztecs finished with a 12-2 advantage in corners and Allaire had a game-high four saves.
San Diego State returns to the pitch on Friday, Oct. 29, when it plays host to UNLV on Senior Day at 3 p.m. PT. Prior to the match, the Aztecs will honor their four seniors - Britney Bennett, Michaela DeJesus, Grace Shevlin and Southwick.