Oct. 13, 2011
SAN DIEGO -
Complete Release in PDF Format
No. 22 SDSU and No. 9 UCLA to Meet in LA For Sunday Showdown
In a battle between the top-two teams in the Pac-12 Conference, the No. 22 San Diego State men's soccer team travels to Los Angeles Sunday to meet No. 9 UCLA at 5 p.m. PT. The Aztecs enter Sunday's contest with a 8-2-2 record, including a 3-1 mark in the Pac-12, while the Bruins are 9-3-1 and 4-0. Both teams are ranked in all five national polls with a high of No. 22 by SDSU (Soccer America) and No. 9 by UCLA (NSCAA/Continental Tire; Soccer Times).
Game #13: San Diego State (8-2-2, 3-1 Pac-12) at UCLA (9-3-1, 4-0 Pac-12)
Sunday, Oct. 16 | 5 p.m. PT | Drake Stadium | Los Angeles, Calif.
Series Info: UCLA leads, 30-4-12 | Pac-12 Era: UCLA leads, 5-1-6
Pac-12 - SDSU at Home: 1-4-1 | Away: 0-1-5 | Streak: UCLA, 2
Last Meeting: UCLA won, 3-1, on Nov. 13, 2010 in San Diego
Live Stats: http://bit.ly/oaJ2Bo (link is shortened)
Live Audio: http://bit.ly/plLfoj (link is shortened)
Noting the Aztecs
* San Diego State is off to a 8-2-2 (.750) start, matching its best start to a season in 20 years, when the Aztecs started 9-1-2 (.833) in 1991 ... SDSU's last .750 start was 2005 (7-1-4) ... The .750 winning percentage is tied for the 15th-best mark in school history.
* San Diego State is 3-1 in the Pac-12 Conference, tied for its best start to league play since it joined in 2005 ... The Aztecs started the 2007 conference slate with a 3-1 mark, but lost their next match ... SDSU only trails UCLA (4-0).
* San Diego State had its eight-game unbeaten streak snapped on Sunday in a heartbreaking 3-2 loss at Washington ... The Aztecs outscored the opposition, 18-4, over the eight matches ... The eight-game unbeaten streak was the longest since an eight-match undefeated span in 2007 (Sept. 9-Oct. 14) and tied for the sixth longest in program history.
* The Aztecs are still nationally ranked in all five polls for the third season in program history (also 2005, 2010) ... SDSU is ranked 22nd by Soccer America and College Soccer News, 24th by NSCAA/Continental tire, 25th by Soccer Times and 30th by Top Drawer Soccer.
* San Diego State is sixth in the latest NSCAA/Continental Tire Far Region poll, two spots down from last week's No. 4 rating.
* The Aztecs saw their four-match winning streak snapped on Sept. 24 when they tied Central Arkansas, 0-0, in double-overtime ... The four-game winning streak was SDSU's fourth since it joined the Pac-12 (other times were in 2005, 2007 and 2010) ... The last time San Diego State won five straight games was 2005.
* The Aztecs won the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament on Sept. 9-11 after going 2-0 ... It was SDSU's first outright CMSDC title in four tries ... San Diego State was co-champions in 2009 and runner-ups (via goal differential) in 2010 ... The Aztecs are 6-1-1 all-time at the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament and are unbeaten over their last seven in the tourney ... SDSU's only loss in the tournament was a 3-2 overtime setback to Michigan on Sept. 5, 2008 ... San Diego State is an impressive 10-0-2 in tournament games since 2009.
* The Aztecs have won 15 consecutive matches when leading at the half.
* Among the national leaders, SDSU is tied for 15th in winning percentage (.750), tied for 19th in goals per game (2.08) and 45th in goals against average (0.96) ... Individually, sophomore Miles Byass (Highland, Calif.) is tied for 57th in assists per match (0.42).
* San Diego State is outscoring the opposition, 25-12 ... The +13 scoring margin is the best in the league (UCLA is second at +8).
* The Aztecs are outshooting their opponents, 211-117, through 12 games, including a 86-55 advantage on net ... SDSU leads the Pac-12 in a host of categories, including points (tied, 78) and points per game (6.50), goals (25) and goals per game (2.08), shots (211) and shots per game (17.58) ... In the individual rankings, redshirt sophomore Blake Hylen (San Diego/Torrey Pines HS) is second in goals against average (0.97), tied for second in shutouts (3) and fourth in saves per game (3.64), Byass is third in shots per game (3.75), tied for third in assists per game (0.42) and fourth in points per game (1.08), and redshirt sophomore Jordan Ongaro (Edmonton, Alberta) is third in goals per game (0.42) and fifth in points per game (1.00).
* Hylen had a streak of 356 minutes, 24 seconds played without allowing a goal snapped on Oct. 2 in a 2-1 win over California.
* Junior Jose Altamirano (San Diego/Southwest HS) and sophomore Casey Meuser (Granite Bay, Calif.) have each started 31 consecutive games, the longest active streaks on the team. Steres has the next longest at 23.
Scouting the Bruins
UCLA comes into the weekend with a 9-3-1 record, including a 4-0 mark in the Pac-12, which leads the league. The Bruins are 9-1 over their last 10 matches, outscoring the opposition, 20-9. UCLA is ranked in all five polls, including No. 9 by NSCAA/Continental Tire and Soccer Times, No. 10 by Soccer America and College Soccer News, and No. 12 by Top Drawer Soccer.
Chandler Hoffman leads the league in scoring with 20 points on nine goals and two assists. The nine goals also lead the Pac-12. Kelyn Rowe has 15 points on five goals and five helpers, while Ryan Hollingshead (two goals, three assists) and Victor Munoz (one goal, five assists) have seven points apiece. Brian Rowe has been the team's top goalkeeper, posting a 8-2-1 record to go along with a 1.06 goals against average and three shutouts over 1,022:26.
SDSU-UCLA: The Series
UCLA owns a commanding lead in the series, 30-4-12 (.783 win percentage) ... In SDSU's Pac-12 era (since 2005), the Bruins lead, 5-1-6 (.667) ... San Diego State was 1-2-3 against UCLA from 2005-07, but have gone 0-3-3 over the last three seasons ... Only two (Oct. 15, 2008 and Nov. 13, 2010) of the 12 meetings in the Pac-12 era have been decided by more than one goal ... Six of the 12 games in the series in the Pac-12 era have gone into overtime ... SDSU is 0-5-3 against the Bruins when UCLA is nationally ranked (NSCAA/Continental Tire) ... Sunday will be the fourth meeting between the two schools when each was ranked (NSCAA/Continental Tire) ... The Aztecs are 0-2-1 in those games.
Click on the PDF file for the complete release, including statistics, notes and rosters.