Aug. 31, 2016
SAN DIEGO --
GAME WEEK PREVIEW
No. 1 Akron (2-0) at No. 23 San Diego State (1-0-1)
Friday, Sept. 2 | 7 p.m. PT | SDSU Sports Deck
Live Video | Live Stats
Storylines
* - The 23rd-ranked San Diego State men's soccer team will play eight of their next nine matches at home, beginning Friday, Sept. 2, when it faces No. 1 Akron at SDSU Sports Deck. Opening tap is set for 7 p.m. PT. A live video stream will be available on GoAztecs.com, with SDSU alumnus Chris Ello handling the play-by-play responsibilities. Admission to the contest is free, with the first 1,000 fans in attendance receiving a free Aztec flag.
* The Aztecs will square off against the Zips for just the second time in program history after dropping a hard-fought 2-1 decision in double overtime at Akron in 2013. SDSU last faced a team from the Mid-American Conference in 2014, when it blanked Buffalo at home, 1-0. The Aztecs are 2-1-1 all-time against three of the six MAC schools that sponsor men's soccer: Buffalo (1-0), Bowling Green (1-0-1) and Akron (0-1).
* San Diego State received a No. 23 ranking this week in the first National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division I poll of the regular season. The Aztecs garnered 74 points in the aforementioned rankings to crack the national top 25 for the first time since Sept. 15, 2014, when they occupied the 25th spot in the College Soccer News poll.
* SDSU has won five of its last six home openers, outscoring its opponents during that stretch by a combined score of 14-5. Last season, the Aztecs raised the curtain on Montezuma Road with a 3-1 victory over Grand Canyon, with Matt Callahan, Casey Macias and Rene Reyes scoring goals to fuel the win.
* SDSU will be playing a team with a No. 1 national ranking for the first time since Oct. 19, 2014, when it came up on the short end of a 3-2 score to Washington at home. The Aztecs also experienced a pair of narrow defeats to top-ranked California in 2013, dropping a 2-1 decision at SDSU Sports Deck, followed by a 3-2 heartbreaker in Berkeley.
* San Diego State posted a 1-0-1 record at the Gonzaga Soccer Tournament last weekend in Spokane, Wash., where it battled defending Horizon League regular-season champion UIC to a 1-1 stalemate, before knocking off Bradley, 1-0. Midfielder Pablo Pelaez, a redshirt freshman, assisted on both Aztec goals in the Pacific Northwest and combined for a team-high seven shots. In the opener against the Flames on Aug. 26, midfielder AJ Vergara, a true freshman, scored the equalizer in the 53rd minute in his very first collegiate match after receiving clearance to play the previous morning. Two days later vs. the Braves, senior forward Michael Sauers registered the game-winner with a strike in the 11th minute, and the SDSU backline made it stand up. Redshirt junior Adam Allmaras made two saves in front of the net to complete his first shutout of the season and 11th of his career.
* Since the beginning of the 2015 campaign, the Aztecs are 7-2-3 when outshooting the opposition, winning five of their last six matches maintaining that advantage. Last weekend, SDSU outshot both UIC and Bradley by a combined 21-14 margin. The Aztecs are 6-1-1 in their last eight games dating back to last season when leading at the half. Not to be outdone, SDSU is now 8-2-1 in its last 11 games when scoring first in a match, including Sunday's win.
* The Aztecs take their home-field advantage to heart as demonstrated by their 25-7-3 record (.757) in non-conference play on Montezuma Road since the start of the 2010 campaign. SDSU has been particularly tough at home against non-league foes the past two years, compiling an impressive 12-2-1 mark (.808). Since head coach Lev Kirshner took over the reins in 2000, the Scarlet and Black is 52-27-8 (.644) against non-conference opponents at SDSU Sports Deck.
* Now in his 17th season, Kirshner is tied with Kevin Grimes of California as the longest tenured head coach in Pac-12 men's soccer. Under Kirshner's direction, San Diego State owns a 76-62-19 overall record in non-conference play.
* In 2016, the Aztecs will be captained by senior defenders Matt Callahan and Sergio Enriquez. Including this season, the two players have combined for 51 starts in a Scarlet and Black uniform. Callahan garnered third-team all-Far West Region accolades from the NSCAA last year.
* Looking ahead, San Diego State will conduct its annual Alumni Match on Saturday, Sept. 3, starting at noon, before gearing up for the Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Central Tournament next weekend at SDSU Sports Deck. The Scarlet and Black will lock horns with UT Rio Grande Valley on Friday, Sept. 9 (7 p.m. PT), before battling Memphis on Sunday, Sept. 11 ( 1 p.m. PT).
Opponent Notebook
Akron
The Zips occupy the No. 1 spot in three major polls (NSCAA, College Soccer News, Soccer America) after recording a pair of 1-0 victories at home over Georgetown and Seattle - two teams that were ranked seventh and ninth, respectively, by TopDrawerSoccer.com in the preseason. Sophomore goalkeeper Ben Lundt was named the NSCAA National Player of the Week on Tuesday after combining for 10 saves in the two shutouts. Lundt was also named the MAC Men's Soccer Athlete of the Week and earned a spot on TopDrawerSoccer.com's National Team of the Week. Similarly, senior defender Brad Ruhaak was selected to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week after scoring the game-winning goal against Georgetown last Friday with 36 seconds left in regulation. Junior forward Sam Gainford leads Akron with nine shots on the year, while senior midfielder Adam Najem, a second-team NSCAA All-American in 2015, has seven attempts of his own.
* Last season, the Zips finished with an 18-3-3 record before falling to Stanford on penalty kicks, 8-7, in the semifinals of the NCAA College Cup.
* Head coach Jared Embick is in his fourth year at the helm of the Akron program after serving as the team's associate head coach and recruiting coordinator the previous six seasons. His career record stands at 50-13-6.