Nov. 1, 2010
SAN DIEGO -
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GAME WEEK RESET
(6) WYOMING (7-9-3; 1-3-3 MWC) at (3) SAN DIEGO STATE (7-9-3; 5-2 MWC)
MWC Championships Quarterfinals | SDSU Sports Deck | San Diego, Calif.
Wednesday, Oct. 3 | 3 p.m. PT
AZTEC STORY LINES
- The defending Mountain West Conference champion San Diego State women's soccer team begins its title defense on Wednesday as it takes on the sixth-seeded Wyoming Cowgirls. The quarterfinal match is set for 3 p.m. PT at the Aztecs' home pitch, SDSU Sports Deck.
- The third-seeded Aztecs fell one point shy of securing a first-round bye after BYU won on the road at Utah in the regular-season finale. San Diego State finished with 15 points after completing MWC play with a record of 5-2. With the win over the Utes, the Cougars improved to 5-1-1 and earned 16 points to earn the second seed and a bye into the semifinals.
- With a win over Wyoming, the Aztecs will advance to play Brigham Young in the semifinals on Thursday at 3 p.m. PT. The game will be televised live on The Mtn.
- SDSU is coming off a week where it played just one game, a 2-0 victory over UNLV at home. Thanks to a pair of goals by freshmen Soledad Gomez and Zoe Carroll, the Aztecs were able to send seniors Britney Bennett, Michaela DeJesus, Grace Shevlin and Aubree Southwick off a with a victory on Senior Day.
- Michaela DeJesus continued her solid play in her final season as she assisted on Zoe Carroll's first career goal. The senior has a team-best four goals and 13 points, and shares the SDSU lead in assists (5) with freshman Haley Palmer.
- Just as DeJesus was credited with an assist vs. the Rebels, Haley Palmer actually logged the first assist of the game when she helped Soledad Gomez score what would end up being the game-winner. The freshman from Windsor, Calif., sent a free kick into the box and Gomez corralled the loose ball and knocked in her third goal of the season. Palmer is third on the team with seven points.
- San Diego State has shown great improvement from the non-conference season to the MWC campaign. In 12 non-league games (2-7-3), opponents put 54.0 percent of their shots on goal and scored 1.33 goals. SDSU, on the other hand, had 48.0 percent of their shots come on goal, while averaging less than a goal per game (0.83). In Mountain West play (5-2), however, the Aztecs have reversed the trend. SDSU finished the MWC campaign by putting a higher percentage of shots on goal than its opponents (42.5-33.7) and scoring at a higher clip (1.29-0.57). As a result, San Diego State has more wins (5) in fewer games (7) than it did during the non-conference slate (2).
- San Diego State's first-year student-athletes have had a huge impact on the team this season. First-year Aztecs, which includes newcomers, have 22 points (Haley Palmer - 7, Soledad Gomez - 6, Carli Johnson - 4, Kim Carcich - 2, Zoe Carroll - 2, Megan Erskine - 1) for the season, which is 40 percent of San Diego State's total points for the year.
- The Aztecs dropped just two matches in conference play this season. Despite the two setbacks, the Aztecs have still won 12 of their last 14 against the league and are unbeaten in 14 of their last 16 vs. the Mountain West.
- The San Diego State defense has been superb over the last four games, allowing just one goal (0.25 gpg). Over the last five outings, the Aztecs have allowed an average of 0.4 goals per game. The recent trend is a welcome sight for a ballclub that struggled to keep opponents of the scoreboard in the early going. In the first 12 games of the season, SDSU allowed 16 goals (1.33 gpg), including at least one goal in each game.
- With the defense's effort, the Aztecs have managed to shutout three of their last four opponents and have four total blankings to their credit, all of which have come during conference play. Goalkeeper Aubree Southwick has two this season, while Megan Allaire has one. The fourth shutout was a combined effort from Southwick and Allaire in the Wyoming game. Southwick was removed from the contest after setting the all-time MWC career saves record in the 75th minute and Allaire finished the job in a 2-0 victory.
- San Diego State finished the conference season with a record of 5-2. The five wins marked the second straight season in which the Aztecs finished with a school record amount of victories in a single Mountain West campaign. Besides 2009, the only other time SDSU finished with five confernece wins was 1999 and both of those squads earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament.
- With her game-winning goal vs. UNLV, freshman Soledad Gomez leads the Aztecs in goals and points in Mountain West Conference action with three and six, respectively.
- Friday's victory over UNLV helped the Aztec senior class become the winningest group to ever play in the Mountain West in school history. Over the class' four seasons, the Aztecs won 16 games inside the MWC, went unbeaten a year ago for the first time in school history and claimed the program's first conference championship in 2009.
- Aubree Southwick enters the tournament as the conference's all-time saves leader with 335. Not only is she the top goalkeeper in Mountain West history, in terms of stops, she is the all-time SDSU leader in career saves and shutouts (25). She has also started every game in which she has played, starting all 20 in 2007, 13 in 2008, 24 a year ago and 18 this season (75 total).
- The Aztecs played one of the toughest schedules in the country this season taking on four nationally ranked squads (at game time) during the non-conference schedule (No. 1 North Carolina, No. 9 Florida, No. 9 Santa Clara, No. 18 Oregon State) and went 0-3-1. The three losses, however, were by 1-0 scores. SDSU also played a fifth that was ranked in the preseason top 25, in No. 25 Central Florida. Inside the MWC, the Aztecs took on No. 13 BYU and fell, 1-0.
AZTECS AND THE MWC CHAMPIONSHIPS
San Diego State enters conference tournament action with a 15-9-2 overall record, which includes both WAC and MWC tournaments... In MWC tournament games only, the Aztecs are 8-8-2 and winners of three straight after claiming its first Mountain West championship a year ago... SDSU has won three conference tourney titles overall after capturing the 1995 and 1998 WAC crowns and last season's championship... This is the first time the MWC tournament has been played on campus, but the second time it has been contested within county lines... The first-ever Championship was held at the ARCO Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., in 1999, and the top-seeded Aztecs fell to second-seeded BYU, 2-1, in overtime after receiving a quartefinal bye and defeating Air Force, 3-1, in the semifinals... This year marks the third time SDSU has been a No. 3 seed with the other occurrances coming in 2000 and 2004... In 2000, the Aztecs went 1-1, losing in the semifinals... In 2004, San Diego State advanced to the championship game and tied Utah, 1-1, but were not crowned as champs after falling short in penalty kicks, 4-3.
OPPOSITION NOTEBOOK
(6) Wyoming
The Cowgirls are 7-9-3 and finished1-3-3 in the Mountain West... After losing at San Diego State, 2-0, Wyoming has gone unbeaten in its last three (1-0-2), beating TCU, 2-0, and tying regular season champion New Mexico (1-1) and Air Force (0-0)... Liz O'Reilly leads the team with 12 points on the strength of two goals and a team-best eight assists... Ellen McCormick, Nahiomy Ortiz and Carmen Blume share the Cowgirl lead with three goals apiece... Courntey Merkle is the starting keeper for Wyoming and has made 81 saves, while shutting out five opponents... Merkle has a goals-against average of 1.40.
(2) BYU
The nationally ranked Cougars are 14-3-2 and finished 5-1-1 in the MWC... In the last five games, BYU has gone 2-2-1 with wins over San Diego State and Utah... The two losses came at No. 25 New Mexico and at No. 10 Santa Clara, with the draw coming against UNLV... Kassidy Shumway leads the Cougars with 17 points (6g, 5a) and is trailed closely by Jennie Marshall (7g, 2a) and Carlee Payne (5g, 6a), who both have 16 points... McKinzie Olson has received the starting nod in all 19 games and owns a goals-against average of 0.57... Olson also has 63 saves and seven shutouts to her credit.
AZTECS VS. THE OPPOSITION
(6) Wyoming
The contest with Wyoming marks the first-ever postseason tournament meeting between the schools... The Aztecs have had a considerable amount of success against the Cowgirls, going 9-2-1 in 12 all-time matchups and have won the last five meetings, all by shutout... In the last five outings, the Aztecs have outscored Wyoming, 11-0, including this year's 2-0 triumph... SDSU's two defeats in the series came in 2003 and 2005, both of which took place in Laramie... In matches played in America's Finest City, the Aztecs are a cool 6-0.
(2) Brigham Young
Should SDSU defeat Wyoming, it will take on a BYU team that leads the all-time series, 10-9-4... In the last three meetings, San Diego State is 1-1-1, going 1-0-1 last year and 0-1 this season... Earlier this year, SDSU fell, 1-0, to BYU in Provo, but defeated the Cougars on their home field to claim the 2009 tournament title prior to that... Since a 1-0 win in San Diego in 2003, the Aztecs have gone 4-3-4 against BYU... In matches played in San Diego, the Aztecs are 5-2-2 vs. the Cougars and are unbeaten in last four (2-0-2)... In MWC tournament action, SDSU 2-3 vs. BYU and 3-4 in overall confernece tourney history (WAC, MWC).