SAN DIEGO – San Diego State opened its 2018 campaign on Friday with a 2-0 home exhibition loss to Cal State Fullerton. The friendly marked the Aztecs' lone tune-up before their season opener next Friday vs. New Mexico State.
SDSU created the game's first scoring chances in the first 20 minutes of the game. First up was freshman Florence Laroche, who attempted a header, but was denied by Allison Poole. Then just before the clock hit 18:00, sophomore Chloe Frisch had a clean look, but she, too, was stopped by Poole.
The Titans, meanwhile, took a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute on their second attempt of the game shortly after San Diego State was whistled for a foul. Taking a free kick from 40 yards, Taylor Salgado punted the ball in the vicinity of Kristen Swales, who headed the ball into the lower left corner from eight yards out past the outstretching Gabby English.
SDSU nearly scored the equalizer just over two minutes later, but freshman Laura Fuentes had her attempt saved by Poole. Cal State Fullerton eventually took a 1-0 lead into intermission.
The Aztecs came out firing in the second half and recorded the first two shots, all within the first five minutes. Junior Darcy Weiser put some pressure on new Titan goalkeeper Tianna Sanders and was followed by senior Nikolina Musto's attempt. But shortly after the SDSU assault, CSUF's Nano Oronoz turned a Haley Brown feed into the visitors' second goal of the game.
San Diego State had 40 minutes remaining to chip away at its deficit and nearly did, if not for an offside call in the 67th minute. Frisch fed classmate Phoebe Leitch, who touched the ball twice before getting the ball to an on-rushing Malia Kaleiohi. The sophomore newcomer punched the ball into the back of the net, but was narrowly offside, negating the goal. SDSU failed to get on the scoreboard the rest of the way.
The Titans enjoyed advantages in shots (11-8) and corner kicks (5-1), but SDSU tied them in shots on goal with five apiece.
Frisch led the Aztecs with two shots, both of which were on goal, and English made three saves in nearly 56 minutes of action. Kate Hart spelled English and logged 34:18.
QUOTE
"I thought we actually did really well in terms of creating chances and we created more than enough chances to score some goals there. So we're a little bit disappointed not to get one of those goals and we have some things to get better at. I thought we did OK defensively in some ways and then we also had some moments where we just weren't as good on that end, so we'll look to get better this week and get ready for New Mexico State." – SDSU head coach Mike Friesen
UP NEXT
The Aztecs turn their sights to next Friday's season-opening contest vs. New Mexico State. First tap is slated for 7 p.m. PT and admission is free at SDSU Sports Deck. The game will stream live on the Mountain West Network.
Women’s Soccer Falls to CS Fullerton in Exhibition
