June 11, 2012
2012 SDSU Men's Soccer Schedule
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State men's soccer head coach Lev Kirshner announced his team's 2012 schedule on Monday. This season's slate features nine regular-season home games, including the home opener on Sept. 7, which will take place under the lights for the first time at Montezuma Road.
The Aztecs will open the campaign with a friendly vs. New Mexico at SDSU Sports Deck on Saturday, Aug. 18, at 1 p.m. PT. A year ago, the Lobos finished with a record of 18-0-4, were the top-ranked team in the nation for a part of the season, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament before ending the campaign ranked eighth in the final NSCAA poll.
San Diego State will officially begin its quest for a national championship on Friday, Aug. 31, at The adidas/IU Credit Union Classic in Indianapolis, Ind. The Aztecs will face perennial power Notre Dame at 5 p.m. ET. The Fighting Irish ended 2011 with a 9-5-4 record and have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 10 of the last 11 seasons. Game No. 2 of the tournament will pit SDSU against the host, Indiana, on Sunday, Sept. 2, at 2 p.m. ET. The Hoosiers, who have won seven national titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament 25 straight years, compiled a 13-4-5 record a season ago, reached the second round of NCAAs and finished 10th in the final NSCAA poll.
The Aztecs will open their home slate on Friday, Sept. 7, when they play host to the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Soccer Tournament. The Scarlet and Black will welcome Houston Baptist in a game slated to start at 7 p.m. PT. The contest, which is set for SDSU Sports Deck at Montezuma Road, will be the first at the facility to be played under the lights. The two-day tournament will conclude on Sunday, Sept. 9, when San Diego State faces Ohio State at 1 p.m. PT. The Buckeyes were 10-7-2 in 2011 and have made the NCAA Tournament eight times since 2000. USD and Houston Baptist will round out tourney action at 5 p.m. PT at the Sports Deck later that afternoon. In addition to the three games, SDSU will play host to the 25-year reunion of the 1987 team that reached the NCAA championship match. The '87 squad earned the last seed of the 24 teams in the tourney and won four its next four games in come-from-behind fashion before falling just short in the title game vs. Clemson.
San Diego State makes the short ride up Interstate 15 after its festivity-filled weekend for a pair of games at the Courtyard Marriott Highlander Soccer Tournament at UC Riverside. The Aztecs will face Nebraska-Omaha on Friday, Sept. 14, at 5 p.m. PT, before taking on North Florida on Sunday, Sept. 16, at 3:30 p.m. PT.
SDSU returns home for one game on Friday, Sept. 21, when it plays host to UNLV at 7:30 p.m. PT. The fixture will rekindle a series that dates back to when the Aztecs were members of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
Pac-12 Conference action starts the following week with San Diego State hitting the road for a pair of games in the Bay Area. California is first up on Friday, Sept. 28, at 1:30 p.m. PT, with Stanford waiting for the Aztecs on Sunday, Sept. 30, at 2:30 p.m. PT.
SDSU opens its Pac-12 home schedule on Friday, Oct. 5, when Washington pays a visit to Montezuma Road. The outing with the Huskies is set for 7 p.m. PT. Two days later on Sunday, Oct. 7, Oregon State will make its annual visit to San Diego with first tap schedule for 1 p.m. PT.
The Aztecs' four-game homestand, which is the longest of the campaign, continues the following week when 2011 national semifinalist UCLA heads south for a 7 p.m. PT game on Friday, Oct. 12. Then on Monday, Oct. 15, Point Loma Nazarene will take the pitch with SDSU for another 7 p.m. PT contest.
Later that week, San Diego State will travel across the country to face the same program it lost to in the 1987 NCAA final, Clemson. The Tigers, who are two-time NCAA champions, will play host to the Aztecs in a 6 p.m. ET game slated for Friday, Oct. 19.
SDSU's road trip continues Friday, Oct. 26, when it starts the second half of Pac-12 play. The Aztecs will face Washington at 7:30 p.m. PT, before moving to Corvallis to take on Oregon State at 2 p.m. PT on Sunday, Oct. 28.
The final homestand of the 2012 campaign will feature California and Stanford. The Golden Bears will step foot on Montezuma Mesa on Thursday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m. PT. Then SDSU will honor its seniors on Saturday, Nov. 3, when the Cardinal come to town for a 7 p.m. PT start.
The regular-season finale will take place in Los Angeles on Friday, Nov. 9, when the Aztecs face UCLA at 2 p.m. PT.