Nov. 10, 2010
SAN DIEGO -
Complete Release in PDF Format
Aztec Men's Soccer Welcomes No. 8 UCLA Saturday in its Final Regular Season Game on Senior Day
The San Diego State men's soccer team plays host to eighth-ranked UCLA Saturday in the final regular season match for both teams. Prior to the game, which is slated to begin at 1 p.m. PT, there will be a special ceremony honoring Aztec (10-6-2, 3-5-1 Pac-10) seniors Brad Byrns (Alamo, Calif.), Khadim Diouf (Dakar, Senegal), Raymundo Reza (Denver, Colo.), Michael Rocha (Pasadena, Calif.) and Falke Verwer (Delft, Netherlands).
SDSU had its four-game unbeaten streak snapped in a tough, 2-1, overtime loss at Washington on Sunday, where the Huskies scored both goals in the final 5 minutes, 15 seconds for the victory. Freshman Miles Byass (Highland, Calif.) scored the first goal of the match in the 84th minute, his fourth in four games.
On Friday, San Diego State downed Oregon State, 1-0, on a second-minute goal by sophomore Jose Altamirano (San Diego/Southwest HS) for its 10th win of the season, the first time that has happened since 1994. The win also broke a five-match losing streak for the Aztecs in Corvallis.
The Bruins (13-4-1, 7-2-0 Pac-10), meanwhile, come into the weekend ranked in the top 10 in all five polls, including eighth by Top Drawer Soccer, ninth by NSCAA/HendrickCars.com and Soccer Times, and 10th by Soccer America and College Soccer News.
Noting the Aztecs
- Heading into its final game of the regular season, San Diego State is 10-6-2 (.611), the program's best record since 2005, when it finished 9-4-6 (.632).
- The 10 victories are the Aztecs' most since the 1994 team that went 10-9-0. The last SDSU team with more than 10 wins was the 1990 squad, which finished 11-6-3.
- San Diego State's two draws are the fewest since the 2003 team went 9-8-3 (the 2004 team also had two ties and went 4-13-2).
- In the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com Far West Region poll, the Aztecs dropped from fifth to eighth. SDSU has been as high as No. 3 in the region, the highest in head coach Lev Kirshner's 11-year tenure. Other Pac-10 teams in the top 10 include California (No. 1), UCLA (No. 3), Washington (No. 6) and San Diego State (No. 8).
-  The Aztecs have earned results in three of their six matches against nationally ranked teams this season, going 2-3-1. SDSU's wins have come against San Diego (No. 32 by Top Drawer Soccer) and Washington (No. 14 by Soccer America), while its tie came on Oct. 22 vs. California (No. 12 by NSCAA/HendrickCars.com, Soccer Times and Top Drawer Soccer). San Diego State's losses against ranked opponents, meanwhile, have come at the hands of Loyola Marymount (No. 28 by Top Drawer Soccer), UCLA (No. 8 by Top Drawer Soccer) and California (No. 10 by NSCAA/HendrickCars.com).
- The Aztecs began the season with a seven-game (6-0-1) unbeaten streak, outscoring the opposition, 15-4. The seven-match unbeaten streak was the program's longest since an eight-game undefeated span in 2007 (Sept. 9-Oct. 14) and tied for the eighth-longest in program history.
- SDSU is 5-0-1 in tournament games in 2010.
- Senior Raymundo Reza (Denver, Colo.) leads the team in points (18), goals (6), penalty kick goals (3), shots (67) and shots on goal (24). Among the national leaders, Reza ranks in a tie for 94th with 1.00 points per game. Sophomore Jose Altamirano (San Diego/Southwest HS) (nine assists), meanwhile, is tied for 15th in the country with 0.50 assists per game.
-  Reza has started 54 consecutive matches, by far the most on the team. The next highest is fellow senior captain Khadim Diouf's (Dakar, Senegal) 19 straight starts.
A Glance at the Bruins
UCLA is having a good season once again, owning a 13-4-1 overall record, including a 7-2-0 mark in the Pac-10. The Bruins sit in second place in the conference standings with 21 points, one behind California, which hosts Stanford on Thursday.
Victor Chavez (eight goals, four assists) and Kelyn Rowe (six goals, eight assists) each are tied for third in the Pac-10 with 20 points apiece. Goalkeeper Brian Rowe leads the league with eight shutouts and is second with a 0.87 goals against average.
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- THE SERIES: UCLA owns a commanding lead in the series, 29-4-12 (.778 win percentage) ... In SDSU's Pac-10 era (since 2005), the Bruins lead, 4-1-6 ... San Diego State is 1-3-1 against UCLA since 2005, after winning, 1-0, on Oct. 6, 2007 ... The Bruins have gone 2-0-4 in the series since that game ... Only one game of the 11 meetings in the Pac-10 era have been decided by more than one goal ... Ironically, that match came on the Aztecs' last Senior Day meeting with UCLA, a 6-1 setback on Nov. 15, 2008 ... Six of the 11 games in the series have gone into overtime ,,, SDSU is 0-4-3 against the Bruins when UCLA is nationally ranked (NSCAA/HendrickCars.com).