Nov. 6, 2016
UNLV-San Diego State Final Box
SAN DIEGO - Victoria Barba registered a hat trick to help San Diego State tie UNLV, 3-3, in the Mountain West championship game, but the Aztecs did not advance to the NCAA tournament after falling in penalty kicks, 4-3. SDSU watched its record move to 10-7-4 with the draw, while the Rebels moved to 16-3-3.
Barba's three-goal performance was the third in the history of the MW tournament and her six goals over the course of the Championship is a league record. In terms of San Diego State records, the senior's hat trick was the ninth in school history and first since 2008. Her six points, meanwhile, is tied for the third most in school single-game history.
It was the senior's effort that put the Aztecs in a position to capture their fifth Mountain West crown after falling behind 2-0 in the 48th minute. The Rebels scored first off a set piece that ended with a Sophie Cortes header in the 25th minute. Then, just 2:04 into the second half, Susie Bernal put just enough on her shot to find the back of the net from 20 yards away to give the visitors the aforementioned two-goal lead.
Just as quick as the crowd was taken out of the game with UNLV's second goal, Barba injected life that much quicker after Angela Mitchell was taken down in the box, which resulted in Barba's successful penalty kick just 18 seconds later.
In the 59th minute, UNLV was whistled for a foul, giving the Aztecs a free kick from 30 yards away. Barba lined up the shot, fired over the wall and found the upper left corner.
The score remained knotted at 2-2 into the late stages of the game, but it was far from over. UNLV scored the go-ahead goal with 5:48 left in regulation when Jordan Magnin tickled the twine from 18 yards out.
Trailing by one with 90 minutes approaching, San Diego State went all out, but encountered a Rebel defense that thwarted almost every one of the Aztecs' opportunities. SDSU created another chance that forced UNLV to make an aggressive defensive play that resulted in another penalty kick, this one with 1:40 left. Similar to her first goal, Barba calmly stepped to the ball and put away her career-high 11th goal of the season, which tied the game and forced overtime.
In extra time, San Diego State outshot UNLV, 4-2, but neither team found the back of the net and for the second time in as many years, SDSU found itself in a shootout with a chance to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament.
The Rebels converted their first PK and the Aztecs matched. In round two, UNLV had its shot clang off the left post and San Diego State took a 2-1 lead. The score was tied at 2-2 when UNLV converted, but the Aztecs did not. The visitors went 2-for-2 in their last two penalty kicks and SDSU went 1-for-2, which gave UNLV the victory.
The Aztecs were outshot by UNLV, 16-13, but enjoyed an 11-8 advantage after the first half. SDSU also attempted six corner kicks compared to a pair from the Rebels.
Barba attempted a game-high five shots with four coming on net. The all-conference first-team selection ended her career by scoring 10 goals over her final seven games.
"I'm really proud of our performance tonight," head coach Mike Friesen said. "We didn't have our best half in the first half, but the second half and the overtimes, I thought were so gritty. We were dangerous and we came from behind multiple times. I'm really proud of the effort we gave tonight.
"To look at this team over the course of the last three-quarters of the season is really pleasurable to see considering where we started and where we ended. I couldn't be more proud of them. It was a fantastic performance to end the season. We're disappointed to not move on, but credit to UNLV, who had a great year all year and they dug in and stuck with it as well. I'm proud of that performance and also felt that it was one of the best soccer games that I have been a part of so that was probably pretty fun for the fans, coaches and players. We'll have to regroup and get after it next year."
San Diego State, which was playing its fourth game in nine days and played without two starting midfielders due to injury, finished its season by going 10-3-4 after starting slow at 0-4.
At the conclusion of the final, Barba, senior defender Jen Rupey and junior defender Stacie Moran were named to the MW all-tournament team.