Sept. 25, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
Redshirt senior Travis Nicklaw drilled the golden goal in the fifth minute of the first overtime Sunday to lift the No. 11/11 San Diego State men's soccer team to a thrilling 1-0 triumph over crosstown adversary San Diego at SDSU Sports Deck. With the win, the Aztecs recorded their sixth shutout of the year, improving to 5-1-2 overall, while the Toreros slip to 3-3-3 on the season.
Nicklaw raced past two defenders to chase down a through ball by freshman Daniel Sagno and quickly tapped a shot past the outstretched arms of USD goalkeeper Thomas Olsen from 14 yards away on the near right side. With his tally, the SDSU forward netted his second game winner of the year after providing the margin of victory on a penalty kick against top-ranked Akron on Sept. 2.
Aztec goalkeeper Adam Allmaras made seven saves on the night, including five in the first half, to complete his sixth clean sheet of the season and 16th of his career. The SDSU redshirt junior came up huge in the 21st minute after making a diving deflection of a shot by Patrick McGrath. He also snuffed out the Toreros' last threat with a save on Leon Mueller-Wiesen's free kick in the second minute of overtime.
However, the Aztecs survived an anxious moment in the second period after USD's Parker Price tried to redirect Merlin Baus' corner kick with a diving header that hit the left post in the 54th minute.
In all, the Toreros maintained a slim 15-13 advantage in shots and a 6-2 edge in corner kicks, but SDSU's trademark defense kept the visitors at bay throughout the evening.
Nicklaw led the Aztecs with four shots, while redshirt freshman Pablo Pelaez finished with three attempts of his own, including a blast on target from the right wing in the 24th minute. Senior Michael Sauers also found an opening in the USD defense in the 81st minute, but was unable to sneak a shot past the sprawling netminder Olsen.
San Diego State will resume its homestand on Thursday, Sept. 29, when it plays host to Oregon State in the team's 2016 Pac-12 opener at SDSU Sports Deck. Match time is set for 7 p.m. PT and admission is free.
MAN OF THE MATCH:Travis Nicklaw was selected Man of the Match after scoring the golden goal in overtime against USD for his second game winner of the year. The San Diego native played 75 minutes on Sunday and led the team with four shots.