Aug. 10, 2012
Final Stats | SDSU-LBSU Box Score
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The San Diego State women's soccer team officially opened its 2012 schedule on Friday night as they played to a hard-fought 1-1 tie in an exhibition contest with Long Beach State at George Allen Field.
LBSU jumped out to a fast start with consecutive shots in the opening 10 minutes of the contest. SDSU responded shortly after though, as Megan Jurado notched a shot that just went wide. The Aztecs then tallied another attempt about 10 minutes later on a try by Hannah Keane that was saved by 49ers goalkeeper Marrina Meyers.
Both teams battled back and forth for the remainder of the half until the final four minutes. SDSU's Sarah Halverson nearly notched a goal at the 41-minute mark, but Meyers tallied her second save. LBSU then attempted to take the lead on an attempt with less than 15 seconds remaining, but Nadia Link was unsuccessful on a shot that went high.
In the second half, the 49ers were first to attempt a shot less than two minutes into the period. Link's try was once again unsuccessful, as goalkeeper Melanie Vaughn notched the save. LBSU's next attempt, however, found the back of the net as Chyann Saban connected on a header off of a corner kick from teammate Jordan Nelson to give the 49ers a 1-0 lead.
Despite being down a goal, SDSU didn't let LBSU control the momentum as it tallied five consecutive shots in a span of five minutes. Keane started things off with an attempt and then Carli Johnson notched a shot off a corner kick from Sophie Metz. Freshman Victoria Barba then stepped up with a nice shot, but 49ers goalkeeper Kaci McCain made sure it didn't connect. Haley Locker was next with a try that just went wide left before Jurado was also nearly successful, but McCain ended up tallying another save.
It was an evenly-contested battle for the next 20 minutes with each team notching a shot. The Aztecs then tallied another shot in the 86th-minute when Kelsey Booth almost connected on a try, but had McCain tally yet another save.
SDSU finally found a way past McCain a few seconds later as Marisa Fraticelli scored on a cross from Soledad Gomez to tie the contest. The final three minutes were intense as both teams tried to notch a game-winner, but the contest eventually ended in a 1-1 tie.
The Aztecs outshot the 49ers, 11-7, and held a 6-4 margin in shots on goal and a 3-2 advantage in corner kicks. Rachel Boaz started the match and notched two saves in 45 minutes before giving way to Vaughn and Megan Allaire, who played 23:09 and 21:51, respectively.
SDSU will now return home to open the regular season against SMU on Friday, Aug. 17. The non-conference tilt is scheduled for a 7 p.m. PT start at the SDSU Sports Deck.