Sept. 15, 2013
AKRON, Ohio - The San Diego State men's soccer team lost a hard-fought match to No. 7/13/11 Akron in double overtime, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon at First Energy Stadium in Akron, Ohio. It was the final match of this weekend's University of Akron Tournament, as the Aztecs finished tournament play in third place with three points.
Despite that and being out-shot for the game 26-6, San Diego State (2-3) went into halftime with the score tied, 1-1, and played even with the Zips until Eric Stevenson's game-winning goal in the 104th minute. The Aztecs were forced to play with only 10 players for the final 45 minutes of the match after senior John Pegg was issued a red card in the 62nd minute for a late tackle.
Senior Abraham Villon scored the Aztecs' goal in the 12th minute, just moments after Akron took an early lead in the 10th minute on Stevenson's first goal of the match. Villon's goal came from close in to the right of the net on a nice assist from senior Kody Duff. The Garden Grove, Calif., native leads SDSU with eight points this season on four goals
Freshman August Wangberg and Senior Kevin Bick each took two shots apiece for SDSU, while senior Blake Hylen recorded a season-high eight saves. Both Wangberg and Hylen were named to the University of Akron All-Tournament team.
In addition, Hylen received a bad cut to the eye at the end of regulation, which forced him to get stitches after the game. The senior goalkeeper still played all 104 minutes in the net for the Aztecs.
San Diego State returns to action on Friday, Sept. 20, as the Aztecs travel to take on Air Force, beginning at 7 p.m. MT.
Man of the Match: Aztecs senior goalkeeper Blake Hylen (San Diego, Calif.) was named Man of the Match for the second-consecutive game on Sunday. Hylen recorded a season-high eight saves and played excellent in the net for all 104 minutes, despite taking a blow to the head near the end of regulation.
All-Tournament Team:
Kharlton Belmar, VCU
Assane Keita, VCU
Jose Manel, VCU
Juan Monge Solano, VCU
Reinaldo Brenes, Akron
Victor Souto, Akron
Eric Stevenson, Akron
Blake Hylen, San Diego St.
August Wangberg, San Diego St.
William Banahene, Niagara
Tim Magnusson, Niagara
Tournament Offensive MVP: Dennis Castillo, VCU
Tournament Defensive MVP: Andrew Wells, VCU