Oct. 30, 2015
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -
San Diego State-New Mexico Final Box
San Diego State rallied to earn a 2-1 victory at New Mexico in rainy conditions Friday night. With the win, the Aztecs finished the regular season with a 14-4 record and was 10-1 in Mountain West action, marking the first time an SDSU team has reached double digits in the win column in conference play. UNM dropped to 9-8-1 (7-3-1 MW).
"We are happy with the performance tonight," head coach Mike Friesen said. "We had a slow start, but played well after the first 15 minutes. This is a very difficult game to play after we clinched the regular-season title last week. We have played New Mexico four years in a row after we clinched. We were happy to get the win and have the momentum going into the conference tournament. We are excited about playing on our field next week and to play in front of our fans again."
After an opening 35 minutes that saw both teams come up empty on a handful of good looks, the Lobos were the first team to strike in the 36th minute. Maddie Irwin faked out an Aztec defender, had a window to shoot, but took a couple of dribbles and blasted a 22-yard attempt past goalkeeper Melanie Vaughn.
SDSU, however, did not lose its composure and went on the offensive, which created some chances. As the Aztecs were settling in, Hailey Balma twisted and turned past her defender and slotted her shot from 25 yards away into the upper right 90 over the leaping Cassie Ulrich. The goal was the sophomore's first of her career and came on her second-ever shot.
With the score level at 1-1, the start of the second half was dominated by New Mexico, but the advantage was short-lived. The Aztecs gathered themselves and began to control the pace, leading to a ton of chances in the attacking third. Despite some nice opportunities from SDSU, the game looked destined for overtime, something the Aztecs had not experienced since Nov. 14, 2014.
But in the late stages, the 87th minute to be exact, Leah Pruitt was able to get by the New Mexico defender, collected herself and sent a rocket toward the goal. Ulrich got a hand on the shot, but the ball still got through and crossed the goal line for her team-leading fifth game-winning goal (SDSU-best 10th overall). Hedda Regefalk was credited with her second assist of the season.
Now playing with a lead, the Aztecs held off the Lobos' game-tying efforts in the final 3:53 to post their 14th victory of the season, the seventh-highest total in school history.
San Diego State and New Mexico finished with 13 shots apiece, but the Aztecs owned a 7-3 edge in shots on goal. UNM, meanwhile, attempted seven corner kicks compared to SDSU's three.
Individually, Milan Moses led San Diego State with three shots and Victoria Barba, a native of Albuquerque, played the full 90 minutes and was one of three Aztecs two have a pair of shots. Getting back to Pruitt, with her 29th point of the season (10 goals, nine assists), the freshman moved into ninth place in the school's single-season record book. Defensively, Vaughn finished with two saves and picked up her 14th win, tying her career high which was originally set in 2014.
The four-time defending MW regular-season champions play host to the Mountain West Championship (Nov. 3, 5, 7) at SDSU Sports Deck next week starting with Tuesday's quarterfinal round (4 p.m./7 p.m. PT). As a result of earning the No. 1 seed, San Diego State will open play in the second of two semifinal games on Thursday at 7 p.m. (first semifinal -- 4 p.m.). The title game is on Saturday at 7 p.m. SDSU is looking to capture its fourth straight conference tourney crown.
Tickets for the Championship are $10 for adults, and $5 for youth, groups and students with ID. Tickets can be purchased at the SDSU Sports Deck ticket office. For group rates, please call the Aztec ticket office at (619) 283-7378.