Nov. 3, 2010
SAN DIEGO -
Complete Release in PDF Format
SDSU Men's Soccer Heads to Pacific Northwest For Pac-10 Games Against Oregon State, Washington
The San Diego State men's soccer team heads to the Pacific Northwest for a pair of key Pac-10 Conference games this weekend. Riding a three-match unbeaten streak, the Aztecs (9-5-2, 2-4-1 Pac-10), who are once again receiving votes in both the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com and Soccer Times national polls, will meet Oregon State (6-8-0, 1-6-0 Pac-10) at 7 p.m. PT Friday and Washington (9-5-1, 3-4-0 Pac-10) at 1 p.m. PT Sunday.
SDSU is coming off a 4-1 victory at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday night, when it spotted the Titans a first half penalty kick goal and erupted for four goals in the second half for the non-conference win. Freshman Miles Byass (Highland, Calif.) scored twice, while junior captain Daniel Steres (Calbasas, Calif.) and redshirt junior Justin Davies (San Diego/Brooks School (Mass.)) each added solo goals.
This weekend will be a huge test for San Diego State, which is trying to get into the NCAA tournament. The Aztecs, who have nine wins this year, their most since 2006, have struggled in the Pacific Northwest. Since SDSU joined the Pac-10 (2005), it has gone 0-5-5 on the road against the Beavers and Huskies.
Noting the Aztecs
- With three games still to be played on the 2010 regular season schedule, San Diego State is 9-5-2 (.625). The nine victories matches the program's most since the 2006 season, the last year the Aztecs made the NCAA tournament. It is the most wins since the 1994 team went 10-9-0.
- SDSU is receiving votes in both the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com and Soccer Times poll. In the NSCAA/Hendrick Cars.com poll, San Diego State has 16 votes, which is the 30th most in the nation. The Aztecs have three points in the Soccer Times poll, which is the 35th most in the country.
- In the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com Far West Region poll, SDSU is fifth, up from seventh a week ago. Four weeks ago San Diego State was fourth and five weeks ago it was third, the highest in head coach Lev Kirshner's 11-year tenure. Other Pac-10 teams in the top 10 include California (No. 2), UCLA (No. 3), the Aztecs (No. 5) and Washington (No. 6).
-  SDSU has earned results in three of its six matches against nationally ranked teams this season, going 2-3-1. San Diego State's wins have come against San Diego (No. 32 by Top Drawer Soccer) and Washington (No. 14 by Soccer America), while its tie came Friday vs. California (No. 12 by NSCAA/HendrickCars.com, Soccer Times and Top Drawer Soccer). The Aztecs' 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).
- SDSU began its 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.
- San Diego State is 5-0-1 in tournament games in 2010.
- Senior Raymundo Reza (Denver, Colo.) leads the team in points (16), goals (6), penalty kick goals (3), shots (63) and shots on goal (23). Among the national leaders, Reza ranks in a tie for 82nd with 1.06 points per game. Sophomore Jose Altamirano (San Diego/Southwest HS), meanwhile, is tied for 14th in the country with 0.56 assists per game.
- Reza has started 52 consecutive matches.
A Glance at the Beavers
Oregon State defeated the Aztecs, 2-1, in San Diego on Oct. 1, but has lost its last six games since to sit at 6-8-0 overall and 1-6-0 in the Pac-10.
Travis Sanchez leads the Beavers in scoring with 14 points on six goals and two assists. Brian Ramsey (five goals, two assists) and Roberto Farfan (three goals, four assists) are also in double-digits in points for OSU with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
- THE SERIES: Oregon State leads the all-time series betwen the two schools, 9-4-1 ... In the Pac-10 era, the Beavers lead, 7-3-1 ... SDSU has yet to win a game in Corvallis, going 0-5-1 all-time and 0-4-1 in the Pac-10 era ... Eight of the 11 matches in the Pac-10 era have been decided by one goal ... OSU has won the last five games in the series, all by one goal ... Four of those five contests have been 2-1 Beaver wins ... The Aztecs' last win in the series was a 3-0 victory on Oct. 28, 2007, when the two teams played in Los Angeles due to fires in San Diego County ... Friday will be second time the two schools will meet in the month of November (Oregon State won, 2-1, in San Diego in 2009).
Scouting the Huskies
Washington is 9-5-1 overall heading into Friday's match at UCLA and 3-4-0 in the Pac-10. The Huskies are coming off a tough, double-overtime, 2-1, loss at nationally ranked California. Prior to that game, UW shut out Oregon State, 4-0, and Stanford, 1-0.
Brent Richards leads the team with in goals (8), assists (5), points (21), shots (56), shots on goal (29) and game-winning goals (3). Matt Van Houten (five goals, three assists) and Daniel Gray (four goals, three assists) have added 13 and 11 points, respectively.
- THE SERIES: Washington leads the all-time series, 6-4-6, including a 3-2-2 record in Seattle ... In San Diego State's Pac-10 era (since 2005), Washington has the slight edge, 3-2-6 ... The Aztecs have yet to win in Seattle in the Pac-10 era, but have tied four times (0-1-4) ... Eight of the 11 meetings in the Pac-10 era have been settled in overtime or double-overtime ... Of the six ties since 2005, four have been 0-0 decisions ... The two teams combined to score 16 goals in the first 10 meetings of the Pac-10 era (1.60 goals per game) ... The teams combined for seven goals in the earlier meeting this season when SDSU came out on top, 4-3, in overtime.
Nine Victories for the Aztecs
San Diego State has nine victories, matching the team's most since 2006. It is the third time the Aztecs have had nine wins in the six years of their Pac-10 era (since 2005). The previous two times the feat happened - 2006 (9-5-4) and 2005 (9-4-6) - SDSU made the NCAA tournament.
The nine victories are the program's most since the 1994 squad went 10-9-0.
SDSU Scoring in Bunches
San Diego State is coming off a 4-1 victory over Cal State Fullerton where it scored all four of its goals in the second half. It's the fifth time this season that the Aztecs have scored at least three goals, all which led to SDSU wins. In fact, San Diego State has won its last eight games when scoring three or more games.
The five games with three or more goals matches the program's most since the 1996 season and is the most since the Aztecs pulled the feat seven times in 1995.
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