Aug. 21, 2011
UNLV-SDSU Final Box (Exhibition)
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State men's soccer team battled back from an early deficit to tie up its exhibition contest against UNLV, but ultimately settled for a draw on Sunday afternoon at SDSU Sports Deck. The friendly is the one and only tune-up for the Aztecs, who open their season on Aug. 28 at home vs. Canisius.
SDSU's first good opportunity of the first half came in the fourth minute when midfielder John Pegg's shot from 20 yards out was just high of finding the back of the net. The Aztecs had another chance to jump out to an early lead with 39:15 remaining in the first half when Kody Duff took a shot from 20 yards out, but the sophomore midfielder missed to the right.
The Rebels' finally managed to get their first shot in the 12th minute, but Nick Marshall's shot was ambitious and missed wide left. The Aztecs responded about six minutes later with consecutive shots in a two-minute span. The first was a shot by sophomore midfielder Casey Meuser that was saved by UNLV goalkeeper Ryan Harding. San Diego State's next opportunity came with 20:55 remaining when midfielder Chance Marden missed wide right.
The Aztecs once again came close to taking the lead in the 26th minute when senior defender Daniel Steres headed a throw-in from defender Wil Cannon, but the shot was high. For the next eight minutes, neither team managed to get a shot opportunity. The Rebels, however, notched the first goal of the game when Zach Kupfer's pass resulted in a header from Mike Mota that gave UNLV a 1-0 lead. The Rebels notched three more shots in the first half, but were unable to connect on any of them to end the first half with their lead intact.
In the second half, SDSU came out shooting as they outshot the Rebels by a 13-4 margin. The Aztecs' first scoring opportunity was in the 51st minute when junior forward Ata Ozbay's shot went wide right. Less than a minute later, the University of Wisconsin transfer had another chance to tie the game and was successful. Ozbay netted a shot from seven yards out, with midfielder Morgan Sacco and Duff both assisting on the goal.
From that point on, it was a back-and-forth battle between San Diego State and UNLV until the 68th minute. The Aztecs then stepped up their intensity and began to dominate the possession. It started with consecutive shots by forward Jordan Ongaro. Rebel goalkeeper Simon Cook saved the first attempt by the redshirt sophomore, while the second shot by Ongaro was high. After four more scoring chances, SDSU had their best opportunity to take the lead in the 79th minute. After a foul on UNLV, Pedro Adan found junior midfielder Jose Altamirano, who was streaking toward the goal, but Altamirano's wide-open shot missed high.
SDSU had three more opportunities to pick up the victory in the final 10 minutes, but all of its shots were off the mark as the exhibition ended in a 1-1 draw. For the contest, San Diego State outshot UNLV by an 18-9 margin and won the corner kick battle, 8-5.
Ongaro led the Aztecs with four shots with one on goal, while Ozbay, in his first game as an Aztec after transferring from Wisconsin, had two shots, including one on goal, which was SDSU's lone score of the day.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Tim Peitsch played all 90 minutes for the Aztecs and notched two saves. For UNLV, meanwhile, Harding (67:40) and Cook (22:20) split time in goal.
SDSU opens its regular season next Sunday, Aug. 28, with first tap set for 3 p.m. at SDSU Sports Deck. Admission is free.