April 20, 2011
SAN DIEGO -
2011 SDSU Women's Soccer Schedule in PDF Format
San Diego State women's soccer head coach Mike Friesen announced his team's 2011 schedule on Wednesday. The 19-game regular season slate, which includes 10 games to be played at SDSU Sports Deck, is highlighted by eight teams that advanced to the 2010 NCAA Championship.
"I am excited about the schedule we have in 2011," Friesen said. "This is, by far, the toughest schedule we've put together during my time at San Diego State, especially with the number of teams that qualified for the NCAA tournament last season.
"Our non-conference schedule features some of the top powerhouses in Division I women's soccer, but we have many of those games at home, which will help prepare us for the rigors of the Mountain West Conference."
Fans can get their first look at the 2011 Aztecs on Saturday, Aug. 13, when Point Loma Nazarene makes the short trip east on Interstate 8. The friendly is set for a 1 p.m. PT start at SDSU Sports Deck.
San Diego State will officially open the campaign at home on Friday, Aug. 19, when Arizona visits Montezuma Mesa. The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. PT start and will mark the school's first meeting with the Wildcats since 2007 when SDSU shut out Arizona, 1-0, in Tucson. The Scarlet and Black is 3-0 all-time vs. UA, winning by a combined score of 8-0, including a 4-0 blanking in 1995, which represents Arizona's only appearance in San Diego.
The Aztecs will stay within in the Pac-12 Conference for their next game set for Sunday, Aug. 21. SDSU will hit the road for the first time in 2011 to face California at 1 p.m. PT. A year ago, the Golden Bears finished with a record of 9-6-5 and earned a berth in the NCAA Championship. The trip will mark San Diego State's first to Berkeley since 1999.
Next up for SDSU is the first of six consecutive home games, including four that earned a berth in the postseason. First is a Friday, Aug. 26, date with Minnesota at 4 p.m. PT. The Golden Gophers completed 2010 with a 14-6-3 record and advanced to the Sweet 16 before finishing 21st in the final NSCAA postseason poll. San Diego State and Minnesota have faced once before and the Aztecs emerged with a 2-1 victory in San Diego in 1994.
Portland follows Minnesota and the Pilots visit SDSU Sports Deck on Sunday, Aug. 28, at 1 p.m. PT. Portland ended the 2010 campaign with a 19-1-2 record and last suffered a defeat on Sept. 25, 2010, at No. 2 Stanford. The Pilots advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship and tied Washington, 1-1, but were eliminated from the tournament after finishing on the wrong end of a 10-9 score in penalty kicks. Despite the early exit, Portland still found itself ranked eighth nationally in the final NSCAA rankings. This game will mark the Pilots' first trip to San Diego State since 1994.
The following weekend the Aztecs will play host to Alabama out of the Southeastern Conference on Friday, Sept. 2, at 4 p.m. PT. The Crimson Tide missed the postseason with a record of 8-8-2, but compete in a league that earned three bids into the 2010 NCAA Championship. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
A season after falling at Central Florida, 2-0, SDSU will play host to the Knights, a perennial power, on Sunday, Sept. 4, at 1 p.m. PT. UCF put together a stellar 2010, finishing with a 15-5-3 record and advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Though not ranked, Central Florida found itself just on the outside of the NSCAA top 25, finishing with the 33rd-most votes in Division I. The last time the Knights visited Montezuma Mesa, the Aztecs came out on top, 4-1, in 1997. The final weekend of the six-game homestand features two teams that finished a combined 23-11-5 just a season ago. Columbia, 9-5-3 in 2010, makes its way out west for a 1:30 p.m. PT game on Friday, Sept. 9. Like the Alabama contest, this will represent the first-ever meeting between the schools. Long Beach State closes out the homestand on Sunday, Sept. 11, at 2:30 p.m. PT, after a season in which it finished 14-6-2 and earned a berth to the NCAA Championship. Last year, the Aztecs defeated the 49ers in Long Beach, 2-1, in a friendly and own an all-time record of 5-1 vs. LBSU.
After nearly a month at home, San Diego State will head to Las Vegas for a tournament at UNLV. The Aztecs will face Seattle on Friday, Sept. 16, at 4:30 p.m. PT, before facing Hawai'i on Sunday, Sept. 18, at 10:30 a.m. PT. The RedHawks will enter 2011 after going 11-6-2 in 2010. SDSU played host to Seattle in 2009 and registered a 2-0 win in the only meeting between the schools. The Rainbow Wahine, meanwhile, will face the Aztecs having never beaten them. San Diego State is 5-0 all-time vs. UH, but have not faced Hawai'i since 2005 in San Diego.
The Aztecs will endure a quick turnaround as they return home to play host to UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 4 p.m. PT. The Gauchos are set to make their first trip to SDSU since 2006 and are unbeaten in their last three vs. the Aztecs. San Diego State, however, has won five of six all-time meetings that have taken place on Montezuma Mesa and owns an all-time record of 6-4-1 vs. UCSB.
SDSU will have the luxury of eight days off between its tilt with UC Santa Barbara and its next game vs. New Mexico on Sept. 30, at 4 p.m. PT. The Mountain West Conference opener for the Aztecs will be played at SDSU Sports Deck and will feature the 2010 MWC regular season champions. Last year, the Lobos finished the campaign with a record of 12-3-5 and were unbeaten in league play (5-0-2) en route to a berth into the NCAA Championship. Despite a road loss in Albuquerque in 2010, the Aztecs still own a 7-5-6 advantage in the all-time series.
Two days after beginning conference, San Diego State will travel to Santa Clara for a non-conference tilt at 1 p.m. PT on Sunday, Oct. 2. The Broncos advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship last season and finished 19th in the final NSCAA poll after compiling a record of 13-7-2. The game will mark the second straight year in which SDSU and SCU will meet. The Broncos, ranked ninth at the time, edged the Aztecs, 1-0, in Northern California last season.
The road trip continues for San Diego State the following week as it is set to visit the Lone Star State. On Friday, Oct. 7, the Aztecs will take on TCU at 7 p.m. CT, before playing its final non-conference game of the season at Texas on Sunday, Oct. 9, at 1 p.m. CT. In 2010, SDSU needed double overtime to dismiss the Horned Frogs, 1-0, at SDSU Sports Deck. The Aztecs own an all-time record of 6-3 vs. TCU, including a 4-1 victory in their last trip to Fort Worth in 2009. SDSU and the Longhorns, meanwhile, will clash for the first time in the history of both programs.
Following three consecutive road contests, San Diego State will play host to Senior Day and the newest member of the Mountain West, Boise State, on Sunday, Oct. 16. The noon PT game will signify the first-ever date between the two programs.
SDSU wraps up the regular season with three games on the road starting with Wyoming on Friday, Oct. 21, at 3 p.m. MT. The Aztecs took both meetings with the Cowgirls in 2010, which occurred at SDSU Sports Deck during the regular season and at the conference tournament. San Diego State will carry a 10-2-1 all-time record vs. Wyoming into Laramie.
On the same road trip, the Aztecs will travel to Air Force after their date with the Cowgirls. SDSU and the Academy will play on Sunday, Oct. 23, at 11 a.m. MT. San Diego State won the 2010 meeting, 2-1, in overtime, and claimed a 1-0 decision the last time it visited USAFA in 2009. The Aztecs will enter the game having gone 13-1-1 vs. the Falcons in 15 all-time get-togethers.
San Diego State will put the final touches on the regular season on Friday, Oct. 28, at UNLV. The 4:30 p.m. PT contest will be the 17th all-time meeting between the two schools as SDSU leads the series, 9-7. Last year, the Aztecs closed the regular season by beating the Rebels, 2-0, at SDSU Sports Deck.
In 2011, the Mountain West Conference Championship will be held in Albuquerque, N.M., as a result of New Mexico winning the 2010 regular season. The quarterfinals are set for Wednesday, Nov. 4, with the semifinals slated for Friday, Nov. 6, and the finals on Sunday, Nov. 8.
The Aztecs will return 14 letterwinners in 2011, including junior Sarah Halverson, who ranked second last season in points, and the 2009 Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year, Cat Walker, who missed 2010 with an injury. Walker, who will be a redshirt senior in 2011, scored 10 goals and finished with 23 points in leading the Aztecs to the MWC tournament crown and to the second round of the 2009 NCAA Championship.