Nov. 3, 2011
SAN DIEGO -
Complete Release in PDF Format
No. 27 Aztecs Travel to Bay Area to Face Stanford and California
The San Diego State men's soccer team travels to the Bay Area this weekend for key Pac-12 Conference games against Stanford and California. The Aztecs (10-4-2, 4-3 Pac-12), who are ranked 27th in the latest College Soccer News national poll, will play the Cardinal (4-9-2, 1-5-1 Pac-12) in Palo Alto, Calif., at 7 p.m. PT Friday before meeting the Bears (3-7-4, 0-5-2 Pac-12) in Berkeley at 2 p.m. PT Sunday.
Game #17: SDSU (10-4-2, 4-3 Pac-12) at Stanford (4-9-2, 1-5-1 Pac-12)
Friday, Nov. 4 | 7 p.m. PT | Cagan Stadium | Palo Alto, Calif.
Series Info: SDSU leads, 12-5-5 | Pac-12 Era: SDSU leads, 7-4-2
Pac-12 - SDSU at Home: 5-1-1 | Away: 2-3-1
Last Meeting: SDSU won, 1-0, on Sept. 30, 2011 in San Diego
Live Stats: http://bit.ly/uTGBVp (link is shortened)
Game #18: SDSU at California (4-9-2, 0-5-2 Pac-12 entering Friday's game)
Sunday, Nov. 6 | 2 p.m. PT | Edwards Stadium | Berkeley, Calif.
Series Info: SDSU leads, 18-13-3 | Pac-12 Era: SDSU leads, 8-3-2
Pac-12 - SDSU at Home: 6-0-1 | Away: 2-3-1
Last Meeting: SDSU won, 2-1, on Oct. 2, 2011 in San Diego
Live Stats: http://bit.ly/sGkNku (link is shortened)
Noting the Aztecs
* With three games to play in the regular season, San Diego State is 10-4-2 (.688) start, its best 16-game start to a season since 2005, when the Aztecs began the campaign with a 9-2-5 mark (.714) ... It is the second-best start by an SDSU team in 20 years (since 1991) ... The .688 winning percentage is tied for the 29th-best record in the country.
* San Diego State is 4-3 in the Pac-12 Conference ... The .571 winning percentage in league play is 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 12 points and three games to go ... UCLA leads the league with a perfect 7-0-0 record and 21 points, while Washington is second at 6-3-0 and 18 points ... A win in either game this weekend will give the Aztecs at least a top-half finish in league standings, their first since finishing third in 2008 ... Additionally, SDSU still has a chance to share either the Pac-12 title or a runner-up finish with some victories and some help from other teams.
* San Diego State is 3-1 against 2010 NCAA tournament teams this year with wins over NCAA semifinalist Michigan, and quarterfinalist California and Penn ... The Aztecs' only loss to a team that made last year's tourney was UCLA ... SDSU still has games against Cal (Nov. 6) and UCLA (Nov. 12) this year.
* 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.
*  SDSU dropped seven places in the College Soccer News poll, but is still ranked 27th in the nation ... Four 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 sixth in the latest NSCAA/Continental Tire Far Region poll, trailing New Mexico (No. 1), UCLA (No. 2), UC Irvine (No. 3), Washington (No. 4) and UC Santa Barbara (No. 5).
* 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 30 goals this season in just 16 games (1.88 goals per game) ... The 30 goals matches the Aztecs' total from last year, which was done over 19 matches (1.58 goals per game) ... The 30 goals matches the most by an SDSU team since the 2001 squad scored 38 times in 20 games (1.90 goals per game) ... San Diego State still has at least three games remaining ... The 1.88 goals per game rank in a tie for 25th in the nation.
* The Aztecs are outscoring the opposition, 30-18, this year ... It is SDSU's largest scoring margin (+12) since the 1991 team outscored its opponents by 14 goals (35-21) ... The +12 scoring margin is second in the Pac-12 behind Washington's +13.
* San Diego State won the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament on Sept. 9-11 after going 2-0 ... It was the Aztecs' first outright CMSDC title in four tries ... SDSU was co-champions in 2009 and runner-ups (via goal differential) in 2010 ... San Diego State is 6-1-1 all-time at the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament and is unbeaten over its last seven in the tourney ... The Aztecs' only loss in the tournament was a 3-2 overtime setback to Michigan on Sept. 5, 2008 ... SDSU is an impressive 10-0-2 in tournament games since 2009.
* San Diego State has won 17 consecutive matches when leading at the half and nine straight when scoring first.
* The Aztecs are outshooting their opponents, 247-166, through 16 games, including a 102-78 advantage on net ... SDSU leads the Pac-12 in goals per game (1.88), and is ranked second in points per game (5.75), assists per game (2.00) and shots per game (15.44) ... Individually, redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Blake Hylen (San Diego/Torrey Pines HS) ranks third in goals against average (1.11), saves per game (3.80) and shutouts (4), sophomore Miles Byass (Highland, Calif.) is third in shots per game (3.25), fourth in points per game (0.94), tied for fourth in goals per game (0.31) and fifth in assists per game (0.31), and senior Daniel Steres (Calabasas, Calif.) and redshirt sophomore Jordan Ongaro (Edmonton, Alberta) are tied for fourth in goals per game (0.31).
* 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 35 consecutive games, the longest active streaks on the team. Steres has the next longest at 27.
Scouting the Cardinal
Stanford is 4-9-2 and 1-5-1 in the Pac-12 heading into Friday's game with San Diego State. The Cardinal took a three-game unbeaten streak into conference play, but has just one win over the seven matches since. Stanford has had a bit of bad luck as six of its nine losses have been by one goal, including two in overtime.
Garrett Gunther leads the team with eight points on three goals and two assists. Adam Jahn has seven points on three goals and an assist, while Dersu Abolfathi and Alexander Binnie have two goals apiece. Jason Dodson has played almost the entire season in net (1,071:46) and owns a 1.51 goals against average and 43 saves.
* THE SERIES: San Diego State leads the all-time series between the two schools, 12-5-5, including a 7-4-2 advantage in its Pac-12 era (since 2005) ... The Aztecs are 7-1-3 all-time against the Cardinal at home and 5-1-1 in the Pac-12, but 5-4-2 in Palo Alto and 2-3-1 there in the Pac-12 ... SDSU has won two consecutive games in the series for the first time since 2008 ... Each of the last seven matches have been decided by one goal with San Diego State winning five of them ... There hasn't been a tie in the series since 2005, when the teams tied, 1-1, in San Diego and 0-0 in Palo Alto.
A Glance at the Bears
A year after winning the Pac-12 Conference and advancing all the way to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, California is 3-7-4 this season, including a 0-5-2 mark in league action. Like Stanford, the Bears have run into some tough luck. Five of Cal's seven losses have been by one goal, including each of its last five setbacks. California has played in six overtime matches, going 0-2-4.
John Fitzpatrick has been the team's top point scorer, recording 10 points on five goals. Michael Munoz has six points on three goals, while Seth Casiple leads the league with six assists. Tony Salcicci has added five points on two goals and an assist. Kevin Peach (1-3-0, 1.00 GAA, 360:59 minutes) and Robby Gogatz (2-4-4, 1.62 GAA, 1,000:49 minutes) have split time in net.
* SERIES: SDSU leads the all-time series between the two schools, 18-13-3, including a 8-3-2 mark since it joined the league in 2005 ... San Diego State is 6-0-1 in home matches against the Bears since joining the conference and 3-1-2 in Berkeley ... After winning, 2-1, on Oct. 2 in San Diego, the Aztecs are looking for the season sweep for the third time since 2005 (also 2006 and 2009).
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