Aug. 17, 2011
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State men's soccer team is in the midst of a solid first week of practice that began with an impressive split time trial and spirited scrimmage on campus and was followed by a trip to Ojai, Calif., for some intense, uninterrupted training.
The week began on Aug. 12 when the players split up to run its annual time trial on the Aztrack. In the time trial, athletes run as fast as possible over two miles, then get a rest until the 18-minute mark, and then run another mile as fast as they can. In essence, the faster the players run over the initial two-mile distance, the more rest they have for the final mile. Cumulatively, the athletes must break 18:00 over the three miles.
Freshman Evyn Hewett (La Palma, Calif.) led the way by breaking a long-standing record with a time of 16:06 (5:22 per mile pace). This summer, Hewett ran the venerable Camp Pendleton Mud Run and finished fourth of 4,500 competitors in his first attempt at the race. Six other players ran under 17:00, while freshman Tyler Smith (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and sophomore Casey Meuser (Granite Bay, Calif.) ran 17:04 and 17:08, respectively.
Following the time trial, SDSU played its annual scrimmage between the upperclassmen and the underclassmen, which had alumni in the stands, including Tijuana Xolo's professional Joe Corona.
Senior captains Pedro Adan (San Diego/Preuss HS) and Daniel Steres (Calabasas, Calif.) were joined in the starting 11 of the upperclassmen by classmates Gemechu Abraham (Beaverton, Ore.), Byron Boyken (San Diego/Westview HS) and Justin Davies (San Diego/Brooks School (Mass.)), juniors Jose Altamirano (San Diego/Southwest HS), Chance Marden (Fremont, Calif.), Ata Ozbay (Barrington, Ill.) and Abraham Villon (Garden Grove, Calif.), and sophomores Robbie Freise (Canyon Country, Calif.) and John Pegg (Edmonton, Alberta). Sophomore Daniel Kohen (Los Angeles, Calif.) also saw significant time off the bench.
They were countered by the underclassmen group of sophomores Kody Duff (Roseville, Calif.), Meuser, Jordan Ongaro (Edmonton, Alberta) and Sean Zaher (Las Vegas, Nev.), and freshmen (some redshirt freshmen) Wil Cannon (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Anthony Gooch (Santa Cruz, Calif.), Hewett, Kendall Modiste (Roseville, Calif.), Tim Peitsch (Perry Hall, Md.), Dustin Scibilia (San Diego/San Pasqual HS) and Smith. Sophomore Tyrone Martin (Indianapolis, Ind.) additionally saw time off the bench.
The underclassmen took a 1-0 lead in the third minute when Ongaro finished off a pass from Cannon. The upperclassmen answered in the 42nd minute when Steres scored off the foot of Ozbay. Neither team scored in the final 45, ending the game in a hard fought 1-1 draw.
Adan and Steres were the top performers for the returning players, while Smith and Villon stood out for the newcomers.
The following morning (Aug. 13), the Aztecs left for Ojai Valley High School for a six-day training camp. Play has been intense and competition fierce, despite numerous significant players having not even stepped on the field due to injuries prior to camp. Junior Indiana University transfer Kevin Bick (Louisville, Ky.) (March 2011 foot surgery), Davies (re-aggravation of hamstring on first night at Ojai), sophomore Blake Hylen (San Diego/Torrey Pines HS) (hip injury), Martin (returning from PCL injury that sidelined him at the end of last season), and sophomore Morgan Sacco (Greeley, Colo.) (recently returned from a search in Nepal for his missing sister, Aubrey) highlight the group who has virtually been unable to compete. In fact, only 21 of the 32 rostered San Diego State players have been training each day because of the injuries.
On Aug. 15, the Aztecs played another intersquad scrimmage as competition mounts for starting roles and preparation for the team's friendly against UNLV on Sunday (Aug. 21).
The Team A starting lineup consisted of Adan, Altamirano, sophomore Miles Byass (Highland, Calif.), Gooch, Kohen, freshman John Marcuzzo, Modiste, Ozbay, Scibilia, Smith and Villon. Boyken and Cannon also saw playing time in a reserve role.
The Team B starting 11 was Abraham, sophomore Michael Channell (Boca Raton, Fla.), Duff, Hewett, Freise, Meuser, Ongaro, Pegg, Peitsch, Steres and Zaher, with Marden logging 45 minutes off the bench.
Byass (Team A) and Ongaro (Team B) supplied all the goal scoring as the teams settled for a 2-2 tie. Byass tallied goals in the third and 42nd minute with assists going to Kohen and Ozbay. Ongaro countered with tallies in the 37th and 70th minute off helpers from Pegg and Duff.
Byass and Ozbay were the top performers for Team A, while Canadian U-20 members Ongaro and Pegg used their international experience to dominate over the 90 minutes for Team B. Freise also excelled on the defensive side for Team B, which settled the draw via a 5-3 penalty kick advantage.
SDSU wraps up its camp at Ojai tomorrow (Aug. 18) with a third intersquad scrimmage, before returning to Montezuma Mesa for its friendly against UNLV on Sunday (Aug. 21). The exhibition with the Rebels is slated for 1 p.m. PT and is free to the public.