Sept. 17, 2015
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State utilized one goal and two assists apiece from sophomore Aliyah Utush and freshman Leah Pruitt to down cross-town foe San Diego, 4-3, Thursday night at SDSU Sports Deck. The win moves the Aztecs to 4-2 on the season, while the Toreros drop to 1-6-1.
"It was a great performance on the night," head coach Mike Friesen said. "We created a lot of chances and moved the ball well. I'm a little disappointed in the last 10 minutes to give up a couple goals. We got a little complacent and made the game closer than it should have been, but overall, it was a good performance and puts us in a really good spot moving forward for the rest of year."
The first half featured a San Diego State side that dominated the action for the opening 35 minutes. The Aztecs routinely found themselves on the attack and nearly scored four goals as freshman Milan Moses and junior transfer Hedda Regefalk each put a pair of dangerous strikes on target. The final 10 minutes, however, was a bit more even with USD pressing forward and ultimately attempting two shots ââ'¬" one that was chipped over the crossbar and another going just wide of the post.
After halftime, Regefalk built upon her strong first half and wasted no time in doing so, taking a cross from Utush and depositing her shot into the center of the net from four yards out. The 49th-minute goal was her second of the season. Utush, meanwhile, was just getting started.
Not four minutes later, the Aztecs doubled their lead when Utush connected with Pruitt, who knocked in her second goal of the season from one yard away. Then Pruitt returned the favor in the 59th minute as she dribbled nearly 40 yards into the box and sent a short, quick cross to Utush, who put a foot on the ball right before it crossed the goal line to give SDSU a 3-0 lead.
The rapid-fire scoring did not end there as the Toreros got in on the act. In the 61st minute, Maggie Ghotbi hooked up with Victoria Walker to get the visitors on the board. But just as quickly as USD responded to San Diego State's three goals, SDSU did the same less than two minutes later. This time, Pruitt dribbled up the center and touched the ball to Moses, who took care of the rest and put her shot past USD backup goalkeeper McKenna Tollack.
Moses' second goal of the year proved to be the game-winner, but it was met with strong opposition as San Diego came roaring back late in the contest. In the 82nd minute, USD attempted a corner kick and the Aztecs were unable to clear the ball multiple times. Their failed attempted ended up being costly as Danielle Gonzales dug the ball out and put her shot into the back of the net.
The Toreros kept pressing and even brought Tollack forward as an extra attacking player. USD wound up being tackled in the box and Jacquelin Altschuld converted the penalty kick in the 86th minute to bring the Toreros to within one. San Diego State, however, was able to hold on in the final four-plus minutes to pocket its third win in its last four outings vs. USD.
SDSU improves to 9-5-1 all-time vs. the Toreros and is now 4-0-1 in games played on the San Diego State campus. The four goals, meanwhile, are the most the Aztecs have scored vs. USD at home (tied for second most all-time) and the seven combined goals are the most in the history of the series.
After outshooting the Toreros, 5-2, in the first half, each team attempted nine in the second half as SDSU ended the contest with a 14-11 advantage in the category. San Diego State also enjoyed a 6-5 edge in shots on goal and 4-3 cushion in corner kicks.
Moses and Regefalk each had three shots and two shots on goal to lead the Aztecs. Pruitt and Utush, who shared identical lines of one goal and two assists, also matched each other in shots (2) and shots on goal (1). Melanie Vaughn played the full 90 in net and made two saves.
The Aztecs close out their non-conference season on Sunday when they play at UC Davis (5-3-1), which fell at No. 6 Stanford in overtime, 1-0, on Thursday night. First tap is set for 1 p.m. PT and there will be no live stream for the game.