Nov. 10, 2011
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State Plays Host to No. 6 UCLA Saturday on Senior Day
The San Diego State men's soccer team plays host to sixth-ranked UCLA Saturday in the regular season finale for both squads. Prior to the match, which is slated for a 2 p.m. PT start, there will be a special ceremony honoring Aztec (10-5-3, 4-4-1 Pac-12 Conference) seniors Gemechu Abraham (Beaverton, Ore.), Pedro Adan (San Diego/Preuss HS), Byron Boyken (San Diego/Westview HS), Justin Davies (San Diego/Brooks School (Mass.)) and Daniel Steres (Calabasas, Calif.). The Bruins (14-4-1) have already clinched the Pac-12 regular season title and automatic berth into the NCAA tournament and own a perfect 9-0 record in league action. They are looking to become the first team to go 10-0 in the Pac-12 since 2003.
Game #19: No. 6 UCLA (14-4-1, 9-0) at San Diego State (10-5-3, 4-4-1)
Saturday, Nov. 12 | 2 p.m. PT | SDSU Sports Deck | San Diego, Calif.
Series Info: UCLA leads, 31-4-12 | Pac-12 Era: UCLA leads, 6-1-6
Pac-12 - SDSU at Home: 1-4-1 | Away: 0-2-5 | Streak: UCLA, 3
Last Meeting: UCLA won, 2-0, on Oct. 16, 2011, in Los Angeles
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=2126
Noting the Aztecs
* Heading into its regular season finale, San Diego State is 10-5-3 (.639), its best record after 18 games since 2005, when the Aztecs began the campaign with a 9-3-6 mark (.667) ... It is the second-best 18-game record in 20 years (since 1991) ... The .639 winning percentage is tied for the 42nd-best record in the country.
* San Diego State is 4-4-1 in the Pac-12 Conference ... The .500 winning percentage in league play is tied for the Aztecs' second-best record in their seven seasons in the Pac-12 ... The only other team with a better winning percentage was the 2006 squad, which went 5-2-3 (.650) en route to a runner-up finish ... SDSU's four league victories is its most since 2007 and tied for the second most in its Pac-12 history (five wins in 2006) ... San Diego State currently sits in third place in the Pac-12 standings with 13 points with Saturday's game to go ... UCLA leads the league with a perfect 9-0-0 record and 27 points, while Washington is second at 6-3-0 and 18 points ... The Aztecs have already locked up at least a tie for third-place in the Pac-12, their best since finishing third in 2008 ... A win or a tie on Saturday would give SDSU an outright third-place finish, while a loss and an Oregon State win over Washington on Friday would tie San Diego State and OSU for third.
* The Aztecs are 3-1-1 against 2010 NCAA tournament teams this year with wins over NCAA semifinalist Michigan, and quarterfinalist California and Penn ... SDSU's only loss to a team that made last year's tourney was UCLA, its opponent on Saturday.
* 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.
*  After going 0-1-1 last weekend in the Bay Area, SDSU is still receiving votes in two polls (Soccer Times and College Soccer News) ... Five weeks ago, San Diego State was ranked in all five polls for consecutive weeks, marking the third season in program history that the Aztecs were ranked in all five polls at once (also 2005, 2010) ... SDSU has been ranked as high has No. 18 by Soccer America, No. 20 by NSCAA/Continental Tire and College Soccer News, No. 21 by Soccer Times and No. 28 by Top Drawer Soccer.
* San Diego State is eighth in the latest NSCAA/Continental Tire Far Region poll, trailing New Mexico (No. 1), UCLA (No. 2), UC Irvine (No. 3), UC Santa Barbara (No. 4), Washington (No. 5), Cal State Bakersfield (No. 6) and UC Riverside (No. 7).
* 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 the program won five straight games was 2005.
* San Diego State has scored 32 goals this season in just 18 games (1.78 goals per game) ... The 32 goals are the most by an Aztec team since the 2001 squad scored 38 times in 20 games (1.90 goals per game) ... The 1.78 goals per game rank in a tie for 27th in the nation.
* SDSU is outscoring the opposition, 32-23, this year ... It is San Diego State's largest scoring margin (+9) since the 2005 team outscored its opponents by nine goals (20-11) ... It matches the Aztecs' largest scoring margin since 1992 team outscored its opponents by 11 goals (42-31).
* SDSU won the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament on Sept. 9-11 after going 2-0 ... It was San Diego State's first outright CMSDC title in four tries ... The Aztecs were co-champions in 2009 and runner-ups (via goal differential) in 2010 ... SDSU is 6-1-1 all-time at the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament and is unbeaten over its last seven in the tourney ... San Diego State's only loss in the tournament was a 3-2 overtime setback to Michigan on Sept. 5, 2008 ... The Aztecs are an impressive 10-0-2 in tournament games since 2009.
* SDSU is unbeaten over its last 18 matches (17-0-1) when leading at the half.
* San Diego State is outshooting their opponents, 280-200, through 18 games, including a 109-95 advantage on net ... The Aztecs rank second in the Pac-12 in a host of categories, including points per game (5.44), goals per game (1.78), assists per game (1.89), shots per game (15.56) and saves per game (4.00, tied) ... Individually, redshirt sophomore Blake Hylen (San Diego/Torrey Pines HS) is second in saves per game (4.06) and third in goals against average (1.25) and shutouts (4), classmate Miles Byass (Highland, Calif.) is third in shots per game (3.22), fourth in points per game (0.89), fifth in assists per game (0.33) and tied for fifth in goals per game (0.28), and senior Daniel Steres (Calabasas, Calif.) and redshirt sophomore Jordan Ongaro (Edmonton, Alberta) are tied with Byass for fifth in goals per game (0.28).
* 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 37 consecutive games, the longest active streaks on the team. Steres has the next longest at 29.
Scouting the Bruins
UCLA comes into the weekend with a 14-4-1 record, including a perfect 9-0 mark in the Pac-12. The Bruins, who are ranked sixth in four polls (NSCAA/Continental Tire, Soccer America, Soccer Times, College Soccer News) and seventh in the other (Top Drawer Soccer), have already clinched the league title and automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. UCLA is looking to become the first team to go 10-0 in the Pac-12 since the same team did it in 2003. The Bruins are outscoring the opposition, 18-2, over the nine league matches.
Chandler Hoffman leads the league in scoring with 32 points on 14 goals and four assists. The 14 goals also lead the Pac-12. Kelyn Rowe has 17 points on five goals and seven helpers, while Eder Arreola (three goals, four assists) and Victor Munoz (one goal, seven assists) have also contributed offensively. Brian Rowe has been the team's top goalkeeper, posting a 13-3-1 record to go along with a 0.86 goals against average and eight shutouts over 1,574:38.
* THE SERIES: UCLA owns a commanding lead in the series, 31-4-12 (.787 win percentage) ... In SDSU's Pac-12 era (since 2005), the Bruins lead, 6-1-6 (.692) ... San Diego State was 1-2-3 against UCLA from 2005-07, but have gone 0-4-3 over the last three-plus seasons ... Only three (Oct. 15, 2008, Nov. 13, 2010 and Oct. 16, 2011) of the 13 meetings in the Pac-12 era have been decided by more than one goal ... Six of the 13 games in the series in the Pac-12 era have gone into overtime ... SDSU is 0-6-3 against the Bruins when UCLA is nationally ranked (NSCAA/Continental Tire) ... The Bruins' No. 6 ranking is their highest when they were playing San Diego State since they were No. 4 on Oct. 8, 2009 and the second-highest of the 14 meetings (including Saturday's game).
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