Aug. 30, 2016
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The San Diego State men's soccer team earned a No. 23 national ranking on Tuesday in the first National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division I poll of the 2016 regular season. In addition, the Aztecs climbed seven places into the No. 3 spot in the NSCAA Division I Far West Region rankings.
SDSU received 74 points in this week's NSCAA poll to vault past No. 24 Georgetown (59 pts.) and No. 25 SMU (45 pts.), cracking the national top 25 for the first time since Sept. 15, 2014, when they occupied the 25th position in the College Soccer News rankings. The rating is also the Aztecs' highest since holding down the 20th spot in the College Soccer News poll on Oct. 25, 2011.
SDSU is one of four Pac-12 conference members in the current NSCAA rankings, joining No. 9 UCLA (412 pts.), No. 15 Stanford (259 pts.) and No. 22 California (94 pts.).
The Aztecs' opponent for their upcoming home opener, Akron, garnered 18 first-place votes and collected 613 points overall to take over the No. 1 position in the poll, while Clemson (579 pts), North Carolina (557 pts.), Notre Dame (532 pts.) and Indiana (509 pts.) round out the top five.
SDSU posted a 1-0-1 record at the Gonzaga Soccer Tournament last weekend in Spokane, Wash., where it battled defending Horizon League champion UIC to a 1-1 draw on Aug. 26, before knocking off Bradley two days later, 1-0. Redshirt freshman midfielder Pablo Pelaez assisted on both Aztec goals in the Pacific Northwest and combined for a team-high seven shots, while senior forward Michael Sauers netted the game-winning tally vs. the Braves on Sunday.
San Diego State will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 2, when it plays host to the aforementioned Akron squad to kick off Alumni, Friends and Family Weekend on Montezuma Road. First tap is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT. The Scarlet and Black will then hold its annual Alumni Match on Saturday at SDSU Sports Deck, beginning at noon.