Oct. 18, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
Match Week Preview
No. 12/10 Stanford (8-2-3, 5-0 Pac-12) at No. rv/17 San Diego State (7-3-3, 2-2-1)
Thursday, Oct. 20 | 7 p.m. PT | SDSU Sports Deck
Live Stats
California (4-6-2, 0-4-1 Pac 12) at No. rv/17 San Diego State (7-3-3, 2-2-1)
Sunday, Oct. 23 | Noon PT | SDSU Sports Deck
Live Stats
Aztec Storylines
The San Diego State men's soccer team closes out the home portion of its 2016 regular-season schedule this week when it renews acquaintances with Stanford and California in a pair of rematches at SDSU Sports Deck. The Aztecs will face the No. 12/10 Cardinal on Thursday, starting at 7 p.m. PT, before battling the Golden Bears on Sunday, beginning at noon. Both contests will be streamed live on GoAztecs.com. In addition, SDSU will hold a special Senior Day ceremony just prior to its clash with Cal on Montezuma Road.
* The Aztecs split their two matches against the same pair of schools in the Bay Area last week, falling to Stanford by a 3-1 count in a hard-fought match on Oct. 13, before rebounding in dramatic fashion with a 1-0 overtime victory over Cal in a downpour on Oct.16. Against the Golden Bears, Michael Sauers tallied his third goal and second game-winner of the year on a blast from 14 yards out, while Jeroen Meefout and Matt Callahan assisted on the play to help the Scarlet and Black win in Berkeley since the 2009 campaign.
* Following their northern California excursion, the Aztecs (7-3-3, 2-2-1 Pac-12) are currently fourth in the conference race with seven points, right on the heels of Washington (9-4, 3-2 Pac-12) and UCLA (7-4-1, 3-2 Pac-12), which are tied for second with nine points apiece, while Stanford (8-2-3, 5-0 Pac-12) is perched atop the league standings with 15 points. In addition, SDSU is still ranked 17th by Soccer America and is receiving votes in the latest NSCAA Division I coaches poll. The Scarlet and Black also occupies the No. 23 spot in the College Soccer News Top 25 rankings this week.
* Defense has been a trademark all season for the Aztecs, who enter the week ranked fourth nationally in shutout percentage (0.62) and 11th in goals against average (0.58). SDSU has allowed just eight goals this year, becoming just the fourth team in program history to give up nine or fewer scores in the first 13 games of the season, along with the 1982 (9), 1988 (7) and 2005 (5) squads.
* Individually, Adam Allmaras is 10th in the nation with an .862 save percentage and is ranked 16th with a 0.58 goals against average, both tops in the conference. The SDSU redshirt junior also leads the Pac-12 with 50 saves (3.85/gm) and eight shutouts. For his career, the La Costa Canyon High alumnus has compiled 18 clean sheets, which ranks fourth on the school's all-time charts. In addition, forward Travis Nicklaw is tied for 20th in the country with a conference-best three game-winning goals, netting the decisive tally vs. No. 1 Akron (Sept. 2), San Diego (Sept. 25) and No. 16 Washington (Oct. 2).
* Meanwhile, forward Jeroen Meefout is still tied for fourth in the Pac-12 with four goals on the year. Last month, the Aztec junior was named the most outstanding offensive player of the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament after recording a pair of braces in victories over UT Rio Grande Valley and Memphis.
* Pablo Pelaez, AJ Vergara and Daniel Sagno were each named to the mid-season Top Drawer Soccer Freshman Top 100 list on Oct. 17. Pelaez was ranked 21st, Vergara landed in the 79th spot, while Sagno was listed 89th. With their selections, the Aztecs tied UCLA for the most Pac-12 players on the website's initial freshman rankings of the 2016 campaign.
* SDSU's 7-3-3 record this season marks the program's best start through 13 matches since 2011, when the Scarlet and Black squad posted an 8-3-2 mark.
* With its success, San Diego State has garnered several individual accolades at the conference and national level this year. Adam Allmaras (Sept. 6), Jeroen Meefout (Sept. 13) and Travis Nicklaw (Sept. 27/Oct. 4) have already earned Pac-12 Player of Week honors. Nicklaw's back-to-back awards gave the league its first weekly repeat winner since Stanford's Corey Baird in 2014. Not to be outdone, Nicklaw (Sept. 6) and Allmaras (Oct. 4) were named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week, while Meefout (Sept. 13) and defender Matt Callahan (Oct. 3) received the same recognition from College Soccer News.
* Entering the fourth week of Pac-12 play, three of the remaining five teams on the Aztecs' regular-season schedule are among the top 25 in the latest NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), including Stanford (12), Washington (14) and UCLA (22). SDSU currently sits at No. 38 in the RPI, followed by California (44) and Oregon State (115). Collectively, the Pac-12 is the No. 2 RPI conference in the nation, sporting the second-best overall winning percentage (.590) and the second-toughest opponent strength of schedule (.537) in the country.
* The Aztecs are 7-0-1 this season when leading in a match, including a 3-0 mark when maintaining the upper hand at halftime. In addition, San Diego State has posted a spotless 5-0 record on Sundays this season and is 3-0-3 in overtime contests.
* Now in his 17th season, Lev Kirshner is tied with Kevin Grimes of California as the longest tenured head coach in Pac-12 men's soccer. Under Kirshner's direction, the Aztecs own an 80-63-20 overall record in non-conference play.
* Looking ahead, the Aztecs will enjoy a bye week before traveling to the Pacific Northwest for a pair of crucial road matches at Oregon State (Nov. 3) and Washington (Nov. 6).
Opponent Notebook
Stanford
After a slow start, the Cardinal have won five straight to open conference play, including a 3-0 shutout over then-No. 17 UCLA at home last Sunday. Against the Bruins, Stanford received goals by midfielder Sam Werner, defender Tanner Beason and fellow backline mate Adam Mosharrafa, while goalkeeper Andrew Epstein recorded his sixth solo shutout of the year. With their victory, the Cardinal have climbed to No. 12 in the NSCAA coaches poll and are ranked 10th by Soccer America. For the season, Stanford has been paced by forward Foster Langsdorf, who is tied for the conference lead with 17 points on eight goals and one assist, whille Beason has amassed eight points of his own on three goals and two assists. Forward Corey Baird was named Pac-12 Player of the Week after assisting on three of the Cardinal's six goals vs. SDSU and UCLA. Stanford leads the all-time series 13-12-7, winning the last three by a 3-1 margin.
California
The Golden Bears (4-6-2, 0-4-1 Pac-12) are winless in league competition after five matches, including a 4-3 heartbreaker to UCLA on Oct. 13, followed by the loss to the Aztecs last Sunday. Against the Bruins, Cal leveled the match at 3-3 in the 81st minute, but UCLA notched the game-winner with two seconds left in regulation. The Bears have been led thus far by senior Christian Thierjung, who leads the Pac-12 in shots per game (3.18) and is tied for the top spot in points (17) and goals (8). In addition, redshirt junior Jose Carrera-Garcia ranks third in the league with five goals and is tied for fourth with three assists, along with teammates Paul Salcedo and Aravind Sivakumar. SDSU owns a 21-19-4 advantage in 44 meetings between the two schools.