Sept. 27, 2016
Match Week Preview
Oregon State (4-3-1) at No. 22/19 San Diego State (5-1-2)
Thursday, Sept. 29 | 7 p.m. PT | SDSU Sports Deck | San Diego, Calif.
Live Stats
No. 16/-- Washington (6-2) at No. 22/19 San Diego State (5-1-2)
Sunday, Oct. 2 | Noon PT | SDSU Sports Deck | San Diego, Calif.
Live Stats
Storylines
* The No. 22/19 San Diego State men's soccer team opens its 12th season of Pac-12 conference play this week when it plays host to Oregon State (Sept. 29) and No. 16 Washington (Oct. 2) at SDSU Sports Deck. Admission is free and live stats will be available for both matches. Thursday's contest is slated for a 7 p.m. PT start and will include a live video stream on GoAztecs.com, while Sunday's clash is set to get underway at noon PT.
* SDSU (5-1-2) closed out the non-conference portion of its 2016 schedule last Sunday with a huge 1-0 triumph in overtime over crosstown foe San Diego on Montezuma Road. Redshirt senior Travis Nicklaw supplied the game winner in the 95th minute on a shot from 14 yards away after chasing down a through ball from freshman Daniel Sagno, who recorded his first assist in a Scarlet and Black uniform in just his second game. In addition, redshirt junior goalkeeper Adam Allmaras made seven saves, combining with another superb performance from the Aztec backline for team's sixth shutout of the season.
* With his golden goal, Nicklaw earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors, joining fellow teammates Adam Allmaras (Sept. 6) and Jeroen Meefout (Sept. 13), who received the same distinction earlier this month. Nicklaw, a San Diego native and University City High alumnus also recorded game-winning tally on a penalty kick in SDSU's 1-0 victory over top-ranked Akron on Sept. 2.
* San Diego State is 22nd in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division I poll and occupies the 19th spot in the latest Soccer America Top 25 rankings. In addition, the Aztecs are currently 21st in the College Soccer News Top 30 poll.
* In addition to Thursday's clash with Oregon State, SDSU has announced that three additional home matches will streamed live on its official athletic website GoAztecs.com, including UCLA (Oct. 8), Stanford (Oct. 20) and California (Oct. 23).
* San Diego State takes its home-field advantage to heart as demonstrated by its 29-8-3 record (.763) 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 15-3-1 mark (.816), including the thrilling overtime win over USD on Sunday. Since head coach Lev Kirshner took over the reins in 2000, the Scarlet and Black is 56-28-8 (.652) against non-conference opponents at SDSU Sports Deck.
* The Aztecs now turn their attention to Pac-12 play, with three of the remaining five teams on their schedule among the top 35 in the latest NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), including California (17), Washington (27) and UCLA (34). SDSU is currently No. 31 in the RPI, followed by Stanford (53) and Oregon State (87). The Pac-12 is the No. 2 RPI conference in the nation, tied for the toughest strength of schedule (.553) while sporting the country's second-best winning percentage overall (.652).
* For just the third time in the program's 48-year history, the Aztecs have allowed just three goals in the first eight games of the season, joining the 1982 and 2005 squads.
* San Diego State is off to a 5-1-2 start for the second year in a row. The Aztecs own the 23rd-best win-lost-tied percentage in Division I (.750), tied for the top spot in the Pac-12 with Washington. SDSU is also ranked fourth in the nation in shutout percentage (0.75) and sixth in team goals against average (0.35).
* Individually, goalkeeper Adam Allmaras occupies the second spot nationally with a .906 save percentage and is ranked sixth with a .353 goals against average. In addition, forwards Travis Nicklaw and Jeroen Meefout are tied for 25th in the country with a conference-best two game-winning goals.
* 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 an 80-63-20 overall record in non-conference play.
* Looking ahead, San Diego State will close off its lengthy homestand next week with a single match against UCLA on Saturday, October 8. Match time is set for 7 p.m. PT.
Opponent Notebook
Oregon State
The Beavers (4-3-1) have lost three of their last four matches, all by shutout, including a 1-0 defeat to UC Irvine at home in their last outing on Sept. 22. Oregon State's lone victory during that stretch occurred in a 2-0 conquest of UNLV on Sept. 17. The Beavers have been paced by juniors Jordan Jones and Timmy Mueller, who have scored three goals apiece (0.38/gm), while freshman David Norman Jr. is tied for the top spot in the conference with five assists (0.63/gm). Goalkeeper Nolan Wirth has three shutouts to his credit this seasons and ranks fourth in the league in saves (2.88/gm) and goals against average (0.96/gm). Head coach Steve Simmons is in his eighth season at the helm of the OSU program after serving a six-year stint at Northern Illinois.
Washington
After a season-opening loss to Utah Valley on Aug. 26, the Huskies (6-2) have won five of six, including a 2-1 triumph over Seattle University in the inaugural Seattle Cup last Sunday. Washington's lone blemish during the span was 1-0 setback at Harvard on Sept. 11. The Huskies are currently ranked 16th in the NSCAA poll and 20th in the College Soccer News Top 30. Prior to its visit to Montezuma Road, UW will travel to UCLA for its conference opener on Thursday. As a team, the Huskies lead the Pac-12 in shots per game (17.50) and are tied for third with 1.88 goals per game. Freshman Handwalla Bwana ranks third individually with 10 points on three goals and four assists. Goalkeeper Auden Schilder has made 18 saves this season while maintaining a 0.97 goals against average in seven matches. Washington is under the leadership of sixth-year head coach Jamie Clark, who has had previous stops at Harvard and Creighton.