Sept. 15, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
GAME WEEK PREVIEW
No. 11/7 San Diego State (4-0-1) at Cal Poly (1-4)
Saturday, Sept. 17 | 7 p.m. PT | San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Live Stats | Live Video
Storylines
* The surging No. 11/7 San Diego State men's soccer team looks to extend its undefeated start to the 2016 campaign this weekend when it travels north to face Cal Poly on Saturday, Sept. 17, at Spanos Stadium in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Match time is set for 7 p.m. PT. Live stats and a link to streaming video courtesy of Big West TV will be available on GoAztecs.com.
* The Aztecs captured the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament championship last weekend after knocking off UT Rio Grande Valley (3-0) and Memphis (2-0) at SDSU Sports Deck. Forward Jeroen Meefout was voted the most outstanding offensive player for the classic after recording a pair of braces to spark the two victories, while goalkeeper Adam Allmaras was named to the all-tournament team, along with forward Michael Sauers and defenders Matt Callahan and Sergio Enriquez.
* With the sweep, SDSU jumped two places into the 11th position in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division I poll and also climbed two spots to No. 7 in the latest Soccer America Top 25 rankings. In addition, the Aztecs appear at No. 17 in this week's College Soccer News Top 30 national poll and are ranked 24th by TopDrawerSoccer.com.
* Individually, the Aztecs collected their second straight Pac-12 Player of the Week award after Jeroen Meefout received such distinction on Tuesday. Not to be outdone, the SDSU junior earned a spot on the College Soccer News National Team of the Week. Earlier this month, Adam Allmaras received conference Player of the Week honors, while Travis Nicklaw was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Divison I Team of the Week after both figured prominently in the Aztecs' monumental victory over No. 1 Akron on Sept. 2.
* The Aztecs (4-0-1) are in the midst of a five-match unbeaten streak, their third-longest to open a season since the 2005 campaign. Last year, the Scarlet and Black was undefeated through six games (4-0-2), while the 2005 squad played nine games (7-0-2) before experiencing a setback. The 2005 Aztec team went on to earn the program's seventh NCAA Tournament bid in the first season of Pac-12 men's soccer on Montezuma Road.
* SDSU sports a record of 6-4-2 in the all-time series with Cal Poly. However, the two sides have not faced one another since the 2000 campaign when the Mustangs emerged with a 2-1 overtime triumph in San Luis Obispo. The Aztecs are the highest-ranked team to invade Spanos Stadium since No. 3 UC Irvine in Oct. 2014.
* San Diego State is a combined 71-60-19 against the eight schools in the Big West Conference that currently sponsor men's soccer. The Aztecs last encountered a Big West squad in 2015, playing UC Irvine to a 0-0 draw in double overtime on the road.
* SDSU boasts one of the nation's top defenses as evidenced by four consecutive shutouts and a scoreless streak of 457 minutes and 41 seconds for the opposition. Including two preseason friendlies, the Aztecs have not allowed a goal during the run of play this year. As a team, SDSU occupies the third spot in the country in both goals against average (0.19) and shutout percentage (0.80). In front of the net, Adam Allmaras, who has 14 career clean sheets to his credit, tops the Pac-12 with a .938 save percentage, which ranks third in the nation.
* Jeroen Meefout has taken over the Aztecs' scoring production this season and now leads the Pac-12 in four statistical categories, including goals (4), points (8), goals per game (0.80) and points per game (1.60). He is also tied for the top spot in the conference with two game winners. In SDSU's 3-0 victory over UTRGV last Friday, Meefout converted a free kick from 18 yards out in the 24th minute and tallied another score in the 87th minute on a remarkable display of athleticism, meandering through four defenders before launching a shot into the back of the net from 10 yards away. The Houten, Netherlands, native also notched both goals in the Aztecs' 2-0 blanking of Memphis on Sunday with a penalty kick in the 32 minute, followed by another brilliant maneuver in the 89th minute, when he gathered a pass from Debray Hollimon and raced downfield before nailing a blast from 15 yards out on the right side.
* SDSU takes its home-field advantage to heart as demonstrated by its 28-7-3 record (.776) in non-conference play on Montezuma Road since the start of the 2010 campaign. The Aztecs have been particularly tough at home against non-league foes the past two years, compiling an impressive 14-2-1 mark (.853), including last weekend's sweep. Since head coach Lev Kirshner took over the reins in 2000, the Scarlet and Black is 55-27-8 (.656) 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 79-62-19 overall record in non-conference play.
* Looking ahead, San Diego State will open a five-match homestand on Friday, Sept. 23, when it plays host to Pacific at SDSU Sports Deck. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. PT. Admission to all Aztec men's soccer home games is free.
Opponent Notebook
Cal Poly
Mired in a four-match losing streak with just one goal scored, the Mustangs (1-4) broke out of their slump with a 4-1 victory over Fresno Pacific at home on Sept. 11, highlighted by senior Justin Dhillon's hat trick. With its win over the Sunbirds, Cal Poly is now 8-0-2 in its last 10 home matches dating back to last season. Dhillon leads the team with 15 shots on the year, while freshman Kenneth Higgins ranks second with nine attempts of his own. In addition, junior Eric Kam (13 saves) and sophomore Simon Boehme (9 saves) have split time in goal this season for the Mustangs. Cal Poly midfielder Christian Enriquez is the younger brother of SDSU co-captain Sergio Enriquez. The Mustang freshman and Helix High alumnus has played in all five games this year, logging four shots. Head coach Steve Sampson is in his second season at Cal Poly after leading the program to an NCAA Tournament berth last year, its first since 2008. Prior to joining the Mustangs, Sampson served as manager of the Unites States National Team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France and Major League Soccer's LA Galaxy, where he guided the club to the MLS Cup in 2005.