Sept. 5, 2014
FINAL STATS | FINAL BOX | REPLAY
SAN DIEGO - Freshman David Olsen converted on a penalty kick in the 87th minute to lead the San Diego State men's soccer team to a thrilling victory over No. 25 Clemson, 2-1, Friday night in the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Aztec Soccer Tournament, in front of a raucous crowd of 1,674 at SDSU Sports Deck.
Aztec freshman Donald Benamna was taken down in the box on a breakaway attempting to put San Diego State back on top, which led to Olsen's penalty kick through the right side of the net. It marks the second-consecutive season the Aztecs have defeated a ranked opponent at home, as SDSU earned a dominating victory over No. 16 University of San Diego, 5-0, in the 2013 season opener.
Friday night was also San Diego State's second win over Clemson in the last three seasons, as the Aztecs improved to 5-3-1 against ranked non-conference opponents since the start of the 2009 campaign, and are now an impressive 14-5-2 in non-conference home matches since 2010.
SDSU jumped out to an early lead on freshman Jeff Rhodes' goal in the 4th minute off a rebound from 10-yards out. It came after a shot from sophomore Forrayah Bass was blocked, and Rhodes gathered the deflection and knocked it in to put the Aztecs ahead, 1-0.
Clemson (1-2) responded with a goal from Kyle Fisher off a corner kick by T.J. Casner in 25th minute to knot the score, 1-1, but were outshot by the Aztecs, 21-13, while the two teams tied with four corner kicks apiece. Olsen tied a game-high with four shots, Rhodes had a team-best two shots on goal and redshirt freshman goalkeeper Adam Allmaras tallied two saves to pick up his second-consecutive victory in the net.
San Diego State returns to action on Sunday, Sept. 7, when the Men of Montezuma play host to another ranked opponent, No. 19 Denver, beginning at 1 p.m. PT.
Man of the Match: Freshman David Olsen was named Man of the Match on Friday night, as the forward scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick in the 87th minute. It was Olsen first-career goal in an Aztec uniform, as the Fircrest, Wash., native recorded a team-high four shots on goal. Prior to SDSU, Olsen led Jefferson High (Wash.) to consecutive state championships in 2010 and 2011.