Sept. 20, 2017
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Soccer Weekly Release
Game Day Preview
San Diego State (2-4-0, 0-0-0 Pac-12) vs. Texas-Rio Grande Valley (3-1-1, 0-0-0 WAC)
Friday, Sept. 22 | 7:00 p.m. CT | UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex | Edinburg, Texas
WAC Digital Network | Live Stats at GoAztecs.com
San Diego State (2-4-0, 0-0-0 Pac-12) vs. Incarnate Word (2-2-1, 0-0-0 WAC)
Sunday, Sept. 24 | 7:00 p.m. CT | UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex | Edinburg, Texas
Live Stats on GoAztecs.com
Aztec Storylines
- San Diego State men's soccer heads to Edinburg, Texas, for a contest against UTRGV on Friday, Sept. 22, followed by a neutral site match with San Antoino-based Incarnate Word on Sunday, Sept. 24.
- The Aztecs have displayed a great amount of success against teams based in Texas, owning a 13-4-1 all-time record against teams in the Lone Star State. SDSU has won five consecutive contests against teams from Texas, including the last two wins against UTRGV. The Aztecs defeated UTRGV 3-0 in last year's meeting in San Diego.
- Both UTRGV and Incarnate Word compete in the Western Athletic Conference, and the Aztecs own a strong all-time record against the 11 programs currently competing in the conference at 45-30-8. The Aztecs suffered a 1-0 defeat against the WAC's Utah Valley earlier this season on Sept. 10.
- SDSU is 2-0 in the all-time series with UTRGV, which began in 2015. The Aztecs are lined up for its first ever meeting with Incarnate Word.
- Jeroen Meeout played a big role in last year's 3-0 win over UTRGV, posting a pair of goals to pace the offense. Adam Allmaras helped the defense record its third consecutive shutout by tallying four saves in net.
- In 2015, then-freshman Kyle Adams recorded his first career goal in SDSU's 3-1 win over UTRGV. Dallin Cutler assisted on that goal, delivering a corner kick to an open Adams in front of the net.
- The Aztecs have outshot UTRGV 23-13 over the team's first two meetings.
- After a very strong defensive performance in 2016 (0.63 goals against average, 10th best in nation), the Aztecs have continued that trend into 2017 with a 1.13 goals against average through the team's first six games. In the Pac-12, SDSU only trails two-time defending national champion Stanford, who leads the league with a 0.57 goals against average.
- With six points on the year (two goals, two assists), Jeroen Meefout sits in a tie for sixth in the conference.
- Pablo Pelaez currently ranks fourth in the Pac-12 with 17 shots on the season. His 2.83 shots per game average also ranks fourth in the league.
- SDSU had a pair of impressive streaks come to an end in early September, as USF's come-from-behind win snapped a 17-game unbeaten streak (14-0-3) when scoring first for the Aztecs. Utah Valley then followed that on Sunday, defeating SDSU 1-0 and snapping the Aztecs eight-match winning streak when playing on Sundays. Both streaks dated back to the 2015 season.
- SDSU defeated UC Santa Barbara in the team's home opener on Sept. 4. It was the first two-goal win over perennial power UCSB since the Aztecs took down a No. 6-ranked Gauchos team 4-2 on Sept. 25, 2009. With the win, SDSU continues an impressive run, having won seven of its last eight home openers dating back to 2010.
- The Aztecs reached the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in program history last season. SDSU returns six starters and 13 letterwinners from last year's squad.
- SDSU was voted fourth in the Pac-12 by league head coaches in the conference's annual preseason poll. The fourth-place standing is tied for the program's highest Pac-12 preseason ranking since the program joined the conference in 2005, having been ranked fourth in 2006, 2010 and 2011.
- The Aztecs had two players named to the 2017 Preseason All-Pac-12 team, including goalkeeper Adam Allmaras and midfielder Pablo Pelaez. SDSU's two honorees is tied for second most in the conference, trailing only Stanford's three.
- 2017 marks as the 50th season in SDSU men's soccer history and the team has accumulated a 469-330-110 record over the last half century. After starting the program in 1968, SDSU reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time just one year later in 1969. SDSU has also reached the postseason in 1969, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1988, 1989, 2005, 2006, and 2016.
Opponent Notebook
UTRGV
- The Vaqueros are riding a three-game winning streak heading into Friday's contest, and have outscored their opponents 7-1 over that span. UTRGV is most recently coming off a 4-1 win over Our Lady of the Lake, and prior to that, the Vaqueros won both of its games at the Northern Illinois Invitational, defeating Loyola-Chicago 1-0 and Northern Illinois 2-0.
- Ilias Kosmidis has accounted for half of the team's eight goals this season, pacing the Vaquero offense that has outscored the opposition 8-3 this season. Jaakko Hietikko is second on the team with five points (one goal, three assists).
- Andy Rios has started all five games in net for the Vaqueros and owns strong percentages in both goals against average (0.57) and save percentage (.800).
Incarnate Word
- The Cardinals take on Houston Baptist on Friday prior to the SDSU-Incarnate Word contest scheduled for Sunday. The game against HBU ends a two-week layoff for the Cardinals, that stand at 2-2-1 through the team's first five games of the season. The Cardinals most recently dropped a 3-0 decision at Bradley in Peoria, Ill. on Sept. 8.
- Six different Cardinals have contributed one goal each for UIW this season. Ryan Osborne leads the team with three points on the season.
- Brendan Brown has played all five games for the Cardinals in goal this season and owns a 1.50 goals against average and .692 save percentage.