Oct. 24, 2010
SAN DIEGO -
True freshman Miles Byass (Highland, Calif.) scored his first career goal and redshirt senior Brad Byrns (Alamo, Calif.) earned his fifth shutout of the season to lead the San Diego State men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Stanford Sunday at SDSU SportsDeck. The Aztecs (8-5-2, 2-4-1 Pac-10) won their eighth game of the season, their most victories since 2007, when they finished 8-7-4.
The game-winner came at the 26:03 mark when freshman Casey Meuser (Granite Bay, Calif.) slid a ball past the Cardinal (7-8-0, 3-4-0 Pac-10) defense to the breaking Byass. Byass then calmly tucked it just inside the far post past the diving Stanford goalkeeper Jason Dodson for his first career goal.
The goal was one of numerous chances for SDSU, which outshot the Cardinal, 8-3, in the first half, while owning a 5-2 corner kick advantage. San Diego State's first quality chance came in the fifth minute when redshirt junior Pedro Adan (San Diego/Preuss HS) grabbed Byass' original shot and put it over the net.
Minutes later, the Aztecs were at it again as Adan touched a shot toward the left corner from just inside the box, but a Dodson diving save kept the game scoreless.
In the ninth minute, senior captain Raymundo Reza (Denver, Colo.) settled a cross from redshirt freshman Jordan Ongaro (Edmonton, Alberta), but blasted it just over the crossbar.
Byass finished the team's next chance at the 26:03 mark for the game-winning goal and had his tough-angled shot saved in the 33rd minute.
In the second half, Reza found himself with time in the center channel from 18 yards but his attempt was right at Dodson in the 69th minute.
At the 69:31 mark, junior captain Daniel Steres (Calabasas, Calif.) narrowly missed the crossbar with a powerful header off a corner kick by sophomore Jose Altamirano (San Diego/Southwest HS).
In the 80th minute, Ongaro turned and fired from 22 yards but Dodson batted the ball down and pounced on it before SDSU could get off a rebound attempt.
Stanford's most dangerous chance came in the 84th minute when Byrns (8-5-2) punched the ball out of the area after a long set piece. The ball, however, went right back to Ryan Thomas, who ripped a shot through the chaos where Byrns made the save. A San Diego State player then cleared the ball out of harm's way.
Minutes later, Dersu Abolfathi got off a sliding attempt from just outside the box that was tipped over the crossbar by a game Byrns.
The Cardinal had a few desperate chances in the waning moments, but the Aztec defense stood tall, preserving the 1-0 shutout.
Byass had three shots (two on net) in 49 minutes off the bench, while Adan, Ongaro and Reza chipped in with two attempts apiece.
Byrns made three saves in 90 minutes for his 14th career shutout to move past Garry Wilcox (1984-85) and Peter Gisslow (1974-76) into sole possession of fifth place on the school's all-time shutout list. Dodson had four stops for Stanford.
SDSU will play at Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m. PT Saturday in a non-conference match.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Freshman Miles Byass (Highland, Calif.) earned Man of the Match honors after scoring the game-winning goal in the 27th minute. It was his first career goal. Byass led all Aztecs with three shots, including two on net, in 49 minutes off the bench.