Aug. 15, 2017
SAN FRANCISCO - The San Diego State men's soccer team was selected to finish fourth in the Pac-12 Conference, as voted by the league head coaches and announced on Tuesday morning.
Led by 18th-year head coach Lev Kirshner, the Aztecs are fresh off their ninth NCAA Tournament appearance and finished the 2016 campaign with a 9-4-6 record.
Two-time defending national champions Stanford earned four of the six first place votes to earn preseason favorite recognition. UCLA and Washington finished in second and third, respectively, with both receiving one first place vote. Oregon State and California rounded out the preseason poll in the fifth and sixth place spots.
SDSU returns six starters and 13 letterwinners to the pitch in 2017, including senior goalkeeper Adam Allmaras and sophomore midfielder Pablo Pelaez, who were both named to the 2017 Preseason All-Pac-12 Team. SDSU's two preseason honorees is the second highest total in the conference.
To compliment an 11-shutout season in 2017, Allmaras led the Pac-12 and finished fourth in the nation with a .856 save percentage. The local San Diego product posted a 0.634 goals against average in 2016 to finish second in the Pac-12 and 12th in the country.
One of just two sophomores to be named to the preseason All-Pac-12 team, Pelaez recorded a two-goal, three-assist season for the Aztecs in 2017. The redshirt sophomore earned numerous accolades in his debut season, including NSCAA Division I All-Far West Region First Team, All-Pac-12 Second Team and College Soccer News All-Freshman Second Team selections.
SDSU hosts Cal Poly Pomona for an exhibition this Saturday at the SDSU Sports Deck at 7:00 p.m. The Aztecs officially open their regular season slate on Friday, August 25 at Army West Point in West Point, N.Y.