SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's soccer team closed out their preseason with a 1-0 shutout at Point Loma Nazarene Friday evening. Robby Jacobs had the game winning goal in the 54th minute, finishing a beautiful assist from Adam Vargas.
The Aztecs end their exhibition season with a 2-0-0 record after earning a 2-1 win at perennial powerhouse, UC Santa Barbara last Sunday. They begin the regular season next weekend with a pair of matches in the Bay Area, beginning with an August 24th match at Santa Clara.
After an evenly-matched first 20 minutes, where neither squad attempted a shot, the Aztecs began to apply pressure and create opportunities for themselves, attempting four shots in a 10 minute span. First a Reagan Sherlock diving shot which was blocked and that was followed by an Emil Kjellker wide strike.
The Aztecs' biggest threat came in the 30th minute when Adam Vargas, who had just entered the match delivered a beautiful cross from the left wing that found the head of the 6'3" AJ Valenzuela, however his header missed high.
In the 27th minute, Valenzuela was called for a foul 25 yards out to set up a Sea Lion free kick in the center of the pitch. PLNU's Fabian Lueders strike went directly in to the Aztecs' five man wall, but the deflection set up a dangerous cross, however senior goalkeeper Cameron Hogg was able to punch it away and end the threat.
The Sea Lions' best opportunity in the first half came when Andrew Kleszewski broke past the Aztecs defense to set-up a 1v1 with Hogg, who was able to tip it wide right to nullify the opportunity.
The Aztecs held a 5-3 shot advantage in the first 45 minutes, however the Sea Lions managed the only shot on goal.
SDSU began to take control in the opening minutes of the second half and found the back of the net in the 54th minute. Adam Vargas, a transfer from Cal State Dominguez Hills, sent a beautiful ball in from the left wing that got past the PLNU backline and right to Robby Jacobs, a Clemson transfer, who was able to beat the keeper with a sliding kick to give the Aztecs a 1-0 lead.
Three minutes later, Vargas again showed his skill, firing a rocket from 25 yards out that forced the PLNU keeper to make a diving stop to his left.
In the 60th minute, the Sea Lions' Kleszewski received a pass at the top of the box, but mishit the ball and popped it up high, allowing Hogg to leap up and make the save.
Just three minutes later, PLNU had a free kick from the top of the box following an Aleks Berkolds yellow card. The Sea Lions' Pascal Rodriguez, seeking the bottom right corner, avoided the SDSU wall but Hogg was there for another quality save.
Another notable SDSU opportunity came in the 62nd minute. Just seconds after DJ Villegas checked in for the first time, he was dribbling to his left and fired a shot across the body that was headed for the upper V, but sailed just high.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Cameron Hogg – Goalkeeper
Shutout & 4 saves
"Cameron Hogg was huge with the one breakdown we had in the first half and saved the one-on-one to keep it as a shutout," Head Coach Kirshner praised. "He dominated his box, collected a lot of the services and was very good with his distribution."
STAT OF THE MATCH
The Aztecs' eight shots came from seven different players. Only Robby Jacobs, who scored the game-winning goal had more than one shot for SDSU.
QUOTE OF THE MATCH
"We had a good preseason camp and found ways to win the two games we played. I'm excited to get going next Friday. Most importantly, our mentality has been proper. The drive and desire is there. As far as us connecting and meshing, that will take some time because of the nature of us not knowing each other well enough, but the attitude is right and that's most important this early in the season. There's a lot of willingness to learn and to fight and battle and as we start to get to know each other better on the field, the fluidity of the futbol we play will start to show." – Head Coach Lev Kirshner on the team's preseason progress and chemistry.
UP NEXT
The Aztecs will kick off their 2018 regular season next Friday with a 7:30 p.m. match at Santa Clara.
Men’s Soccer Blanks PLNU 1-0 in Friendly
