Oct. 20, 2011
SAN DIEGO -
WEEKLY NOTES | LIVE STATS | VIDEO PREVIEW
No. 22 Aztecs Welcome 2010 NCAA Semifinalist Michigan on Saturday
The 22nd-ranked San Diego State men's soccer team wraps up its non-conference schedule Saturday with a home match against 2010 NCAA semifinalist Michigan. The Aztecs (8-3-2), who are tied for second in the Pac-12 Conference with a 3-2 record, and the Wolverines (5-10-1, 1-3 Big Ten), who are coming off a 1-0, overtime victory over defending national champion Akron, are scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. PT.
Game #14: Michigan (5-10-1, 1-3 Big Ten) at No. 22 SDSU (8-3-2, 3-2 Pac-12)
Saturday, Oct. 22 | 3 p.m. PT | SDSU Sports Deck | San Diego, Calif.
Series Info: Michigan leads, 1-0 | Pac-12 Era: Michigan leads, 1-0
Home: 0-1 | Away: 0-0 | Streak: Michigan, 1
Last Meeting: Michigan won, 3-2, in OT on Sept. 5, 2008
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=2123
Noting the Aztecs
* San Diego State is off to a 8-3-2 (.692) start, its best 13-game start to a season since 2005, when the Aztecs began the campaign with a 8-1-4 mark (.769) ... It is the second-best start by an SDSU team in 20 years ... The .692 winning percentage is tied for the 27th-best record in the country.
* San Diego State is 3-2 in the Pac-12 Conference, tied with Washington half way through league play ... UCLA leads the conference with a perfect 5-0 record ... It is the Aztecs' best five-match conference start since 2007, when they also started 3-2 ... No other SDSU team has started better over the first five Pac-12 games (2006 team also started 3-2).
* Earlier this season, San Diego State had an eight-game unbeaten streak ... Over the streak, which lasted from Sept. 9-Oct. 7, the Aztecs outscored the opposition, 18-4 ... 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.
* Despite losing two straight games for the first time this season, SDSU is still nationally ranked ... San Diego State stayed at No. 22 in the latest College Soccer News poll and dropped a spot in the Top Drawer Soccer poll to No. 31 ... The Aztecs were ranked in all five polls the previous two weeks, marking the third season in program history that SDSU was ranked in all five polls at once (also 2005, 2010) ... San Diego State has been ranked as high has No. 18 by Soccer America, No. 20 by NSCAA/Continental Tire, No. 21 by Soccer Times, No. 22 by College Soccer News and No. 28 by Top Drawer Soccer.
* The Aztecs are eighth in the latest NSCAA/Continental Tire Far Region poll, two spots down from last week's No. 6 ranking.
* SDSU saw its four-match winning streak snapped on Sept. 24 when it tied Central Arkansas, 0-0, in double-overtime ... The four-game winning streak was San Diego State's fourth since it joined the Pac-12 (other times were in 2005, 2007 and 2010) ... The last time the program 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 are 2-1 this season against teams who made the 2010 NCAA tournament ... Michigan will be SDSU's fourth different 2010 NCAA tourney opponent this year.
* San Diego State has won 15 consecutive matches when leading at the half.
* Among the national leaders, the Aztecs are tied for 27th in both winning percentage (.692) and goals per game (1.92).
* SDSU is outscoring the opposition, 25-14 ... The +11 scoring margin is the best in the league (UCLA is second at +10).
* San Diego State is outshooting its opponents, 221-126, through 13 games, including a 91-59 advantage on net ... SDSU leads the Pac-12 in goals per game (1.92) and shots per game (17.00), and is second in points per game (6.00), assists per game (2.15) and shutouts (4, tied) ... In the individual rankings, redshirt sophomore Blake Hylen (San Diego/Torrey Pines HS) is third in goals against average (1.05), third in shutouts (3) and fourth in saves per game (3.50), sophomore Miles Byass (Highland, Calif.) is third in shots per game (3.54), fourth in points per game (1.00) and tied for fifth in assists per game (0.38), and redshirt sophomore Jordan Ongaro (Edmonton, Alberta) is fourth in goals per game (0.38) and fifth in points per game (0.92).
* 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 32 consecutive games, the longest active streaks on the team. Steres has the next longest at 24.
Scouting the Wolverines
A semifinalist and No. 10 overall seed in last year's NCAA tournament, Michigan is coming off a thrilling, 1-0, overtime win over defending national champion Akron on Tuesday at home. The Wolverines (5-10-1, 1-3) have played an extremely tough schedule with losses to perennial powerhouses Kentucky, Notre Dame and Indiana. On the season, UM is 2-2 against top-25 teams with wins over Akron and at Penn State on Oct. 1.
Fabio Pereira leads Michigan in scoring with 12 points on four goals and four assists on a team-high 57 shot attempts. Etienne Lussiez (four goals, one assist) had nine points, while Ezekiel Harris (three goals, one assist) and Latif Alashe (two goals, three assists) have seven points apiece, respectively. Adam Grinwis has logged the most minutes in net (1,405:09), going 5-9-1 with a 1.60 goals against average.
SDSU-Michigan: The Series
Michigan won the only meeting between the two schools in an exciting 3-2 in the first game of the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament on Sept. 5, 2008 ... Current Aztec senior Daniel Steres (Calabasas, Calif.) scored SDSU's second goal that day ... Redshirt seniors Pedro Adan (San Diego/Preuss HS) (one shot, 56 minutes) and Justin Davies (San Diego/Brooks School (Mass.)) (38 minutes) also appeared in that game for San Diego State ... Only one current Wolverine - redshirt senior Adam Shaw (one shot, 65 minutes) - played in that match.