June 9, 2015
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State Men's Soccer Schedule
San Diego State men's soccer head coach Lev Kirshner revealed his team's 2015 schedule, which features nine teams that advanced to the 2014 NCAA tournament. The Aztecs will play five of those postseason teams twice, upping their total to 14 games vs. NCAA squads from a year ago.
Fans can catch their first glimpse of the 2015 Aztecs on Aug. 23, when they play host to crosstown foe USD in a friendly set for 7 p.m. PT atop SDSU Sports Deck. San Diego State will open the season the following weekend when it welcomes Grand Canyon on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. PT. The very next day, SDSU is set to face its alumni at 2 p.m. PT.
The Scarlet and Black's homestand continues on Sept. 4, when San Diego Christian makes the short ride west to Montezuma Road for a 7 p.m. PT kick-off. The Hawks will then be followed by George Washington, which visits America's Finest City on Sept. 6 (4 p.m. PT).
The annual Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Aztec Soccer Tournament begins on Sept. 11, at SDSU Sports Deck. The Aztecs will open with SIU-Edwardsville, the Missouri Valley champions, at 7 p.m. PT. The Cougars advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament after beating Northwestern on the road, 1-0, before falling at California by an identical score. SDSU will close the tourney on the road on Sept. 13 (7 p.m. PT), against a UC Irvine team that earned an NCAA Sweet 16 berth by defeating UNLV (3-0) and Stanford (1-0, ot), before dropping a 1-0 decision at Providence.
The Aztecs return to Montezuma Road for a home weekend vs. UT-Pan American on Sept. 18, and UNLV on Sept. 20, at 7 p.m. PT and 6 p.m. PT, respectively. Last season, the Rebels posted a 14-5-3 record en route to the WAC championship and its first NCAA trip since 1988.
San Diego State will begin a four-game road trip starting on Sept. 27, at Pacific. The 1 p.m. PT game in Stockton will be a rematch of last season's game that ended with the Aztecs victorious by a 2-0 margin. Five days later, SDSU will start action in perhaps the toughest league in America, the Pac-12, where five of the six teams to advance to the NCAA tournament made at least the second round in 2014.
First up is a trip to Seattle on Oct. 2, where Washington awaits. The Huskies were one of those teams to make it to the second round and were denied an opportunity to move on to the Sweet 16 after falling in penalty kicks at Michigan State. Oregon State is next on the schedule (Oct. 4, 1:30 p.m. PT) and it, too, fell just shy of making the Round of 16 after being edged by Creighton, 1-0, on the road.
The gauntlet does not get any easier, other than playing just once the following week, with the schedule taking the Aztecs to UCLA on Oct. 11. Last season, the Bruins finished in second place in the Pac-12 and lost in the NCAA title game to Virginia in penalty kicks.
After three weeks on the road, San Diego State finally opens its conference home slate on Oct. 16, against California at 4 p.m. PT. The Golden Bears received a first-round bye in the NCAA tournament before dismissing SIU-Edwardsville in Berkeley. The victory sent them to UCLA where they were ultimately beaten, 3-2. Stanford then makes its annual visit to Montezuma Road on Oct. 18 at 11:30 a.m. PT. The Cardinal won the Pac-12 and was upset in the second round of the NCAA tourney by UCI, 1-0, in overtime.
The second half of conference play gets underway on Oct. 23 and 25, when the Aztecs take on California and Stanford on the road, respectively. SDSU will have a bye in its league schedule and will use it to travel to Wright State. Last season, San Diego State beat the Raiders, 3-2, and the Aztecs will travel to Dayton looking to make it two straight on Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. ET.
SDSU will close the regular season with three home games starting with Washington on Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. PT. It completes the weekend with Oregon State on Nov. 8 at noon PT. The Aztecs will then honor their seniors prior to its finale vs. UCLA on Nov. 14. Senior Night is set for a 7 p.m. PT start.
All Pac-12 Conference games are subject to change based on the Pac-12 Network schedule, which will be released at a later date.