Oct. 21, 2014
SAN DIEGO -
Game Week Reset
San Diego State (7-7, 1-4 Pac-12) at No. rv/--/rv Oregon State (8-5-1, 1-3-1 Pac-12)
Thursday, Oct. 23 | 2 p.m. PT | Lorenz Field | Corvallis, Ore.
San Diego State (7-7, 1-4 Pac-12) at No. 4/2/2 Washington (10-2-1, 3-1-1 Pac-12)
Sunday, Oct. 26 | 3 p.m. PT | Husky Soccer Field | Seattle, Wash.
Aztec Story Lines
- After earning its first Pac-12 victory of the season last week, the San Diego State Aztec men's soccer team resumes conference play in the Pacific Northwest this week with rematches against Oregon State on Thursday, Oct. 23, beginning at 2 p.m. PT, before taking on No. 4 Washington on Sunday, Oct. 26, at 3 p.m. Thursday's match will be shown live on Pac-12 Networks, and live stats for each match will be available on GoAztecs.com.
- The Aztecs (7-7, 1-4 Pac-12) are coming off a split in two home matches last week, as SDSU knocked off No. 17 Oregon State, 1-0, on freshman David Olen's (Fircrest, Wash.) game-winning header in the 53rd minute. It was San Diego State's seventh victory of the season, which surpasses last season's total with five regular-season matches still to play.
- Olsen's goal came off a perfectly placed corner kick from senior Pablo Vasquez (Madrid, Spain) for his team-leading seventh goal of the season. Olsen is currently atop the Pac-12 with four game-winning goals, while his seven goals overall are tied for fourth in the Pac-12. In addition, the freshman's 14 points are tied for sixth-most in the conference, and he leads the Aztecs with 23 shots attempted and 11 shots on goal.
- The Aztecs shutout the Pac-12's third-highest scoring team on Thursday, as Oregon State (8-5-1, 1-3-1) averages over two goals (2.07) and 15.5 shots per contest, but was held scoreless with only 12 shots on Thursday. In addition, OSU forward Timmy Mueller leads the Pac-12 in goals scored (9), while forward Khiry Shelton leads the nation in assists (10) and is fourth in the nation in total points (24).
- On Sunday, San Diego State fell short in a high-scoring match against then No. 1-ranked Washington, 3-2. SDSU found itself in an early 2-0 hole after 10 minutes of play, but outshot the Huskies, 10-6, the rest of the way. Junior Rene Reyes (Oslo, Norway) got the Aztecs on the scoreboard with his first goal in an SDSU uniform off an assist from freshman Ozzie Ramos (Modesto, Calif.) in the 23rd minute, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Later, redshirt sophomore Travis Nicklaw (San Diego, Calif.) connected on a free kick in the 84th minute for his first-career goal, again pulling the Aztecs within one, 3-2.
- Thursday will be San Diego State's 23rd all-time meeting against Oregon State, as the Aztecs look for their fourth-straight victory over the Beavers. SDSU has dominated the series in recent years, as the Aztecs are 6-1-1 in their last seven matches against OSU, and has outscored Oregon State, 4-0, in its last three meetings.
- The victory was SDSU's third win over a ranked opponent this season, as the Aztecs are now 7-3 at the Sports Deck and 3-2 in home matches against ranked foes. San Diego State has won seven of its last nine at home, and has scored seven goals in its last three contests overall. In addition, six of SDSU's losses this season have been decided by one goal, including three by ranked conference opponents.
- The Pac-12 remains the No. 1 RPI conference in Division I, as it has the top winning percentage (.670) and the second-ranked strength of schedule based on opponents' winning percentage (.535) in the country. Four of the conference's teams are currently ranked in the NSCAA Coaches Poll, including three in the top 11. The Aztecs will face a team currently ranked in the top-25 in three of its final four matches of the season, while Oregon State is still receiving votes.
- Sophomore forward Forrayah Bass (Leeds, England) has a team-high four assists, as he's also tied for second on the team with freshman Jeff Rhodes (Brownsburg, Ind.) with three goals. Bass also ranks second on the team with 10 points, and is tied for sixth in the Pac-12 in assists, and is eighth in assists per match (0.36).
- Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Adam Allmaras (Carlsbad, Calif.) is tied for second in the conference with 44 saves after recording five saves for his fourth shutout of the season in Thursday's victory over Oregon State. In addition, Allmaras' 11 saves against Florida International on Sept. 19 is still a Pac-12 single-game high. Bass still has a team-best .692 shots-on-goal percentage (9-of-13) of anyone who has attempted more than one shot, while senior defender and team-captain Evyn Hewett (La Palma, Calif.) has still played every minute of every match this season (1,268 total).
- The Aztecs are 7-1 this season when either ahead or tied at halftime, but fell to 6-1 and had its seven-match winning streak snapped when scoring last in a contest on Sunday against Washington. SDSU also improved to 6-2 when scoring first, and 7-2 when leading at any point in a match.
- San Diego State has played opponents even overall this season, scoring 20 goals on the year while giving up 20. However, the Aztecs have been the stronger team after intermission throughout the year, as SDSU has outscored opponents 9-4 in the second half of contests.
Opponent Notebook
No. rv/--/rv Oregon State The Beavers enter Thursday's match on a two-game losing streak and are winless in their last three contests. OSU is one of the top scoring teams in the conference, as it ranks third in goals (29), as well as second in shots (217) and points (95) and assists (37). The Beavers also have the best scoring margin in the Pac-12, as they've outscored opponents 29-13 (+1.14) this season. Timmy Mueller leads the Pac-12 and is tied fifth in the nation in goals scored (9),while Khiry Shelton leads the nation in assists (10) and is third in total points (24). OSU is coached by Steve Simmons, who is in his sixth season. He was previously head coach at Northern Illinois, guiding the Huskies to at least 10 wins four times. Simmons was an NAIA First-Team All-American as a player at Concordia University-Portland.
No. 4/2/2 Washington The Huskies are the defending Pac-12 champions and are currently tied atop the Pac-12 standings with No. 6 UCLA. Washington is 8-1-1 in its last eight contests, as it leads the conference in shots attempted (233), corner kicks (100) and is second in goals (31). Darwin Jones ranks first in the Pac-12 in shots (67), while he's tied for second in the Pac-12 in goals (8) and fourth in points (20). In addition, James Moberg is tied for third in the conference in assists (6). UW is coached by Jamie Clark, who is the son of Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark. Jamie Clark became Stanford's first All-American while playing for his father in the late 1990s, and later played professionally in the MLS. He's also had successful head-coaching tenures at Creighton and Harvard.