Game Week Preview
San Diego State (1-2; 0-0 MW) at [rv] California (2-1; 0-0 Pac-12)
Friday, Aug. 31 | 4 p.m. PT | Edwards Stadium | Berkeley, Calif.
San Diego State (1-2; 0-0 MW) at UC Davis (2-2; 0-0 Big West)
Sunday, Sept. 2 | 2 p.m. PT | Aggie Soccer Field | Davis, Calif.
Notes
- San Diego State will look to snap a two-game losing streak this week when it hits the road for a pair of contests in Northern California. The Aztecs will clash with California on Friday before heading northeast to face UC Davis on Sunday. The trip represents the second and third games of a four-game road stretch.
- SDSU found itself looking for the equalizer with plenty of time to spare in both games last week. The Aztecs trailed Texas Tech, 2-0, before Lauren Dicus scored in the 43rd minute, but could not post the tying goal in a competitive second half. On Sunday at Long Beach State, the teams were scoreless until the 65th minute when the 49ers scored. San Diego State created a handful of chances in the final 25 minutes, but were denied each time.
- The Aztecs have scored two goals this season and each of them have been credited to true freshmen. Taylor Moorehead provided the winner in the season opener vs. New Mexico State and Dicus executed a perfect header off a corner kick against Texas Tech. Dating back to 2017, SDSU's last three goals have been scored by true freshmen with Mia Root providing the Aztecs' lone goal at UCLA in the NCAA tournament.
- Root has been eased into the lineup after recovering from an injury, but made her season debut vs. Texas Tech, playing 23 minutes in a starting role, and then 54 minutes off the bench at Long Beach State (1 shot, 1 shot on goal). The sophomore led the Aztecs in goals last year with 10 and finished two points shy of tying team leader Aliyah Utush (25).
- San Diego State has utilized three different starting lineups in three games with eight players receiving the starting nod in every outing. Of the eight regulars, three are true freshmen (Dicus, Laura Fuentes, Florence Laroche), two are sophomores (Sarah Broacha, Daniela Filipovic) and three are juniors (Yasmin Ahooja, Gabby English, Rachel Speros).
- The Aztecs' youth was in full display in the second half as they played three true freshmen along the backline in Lauren Dicus, Lovisa Norrby and Dominique Tucker. Dicus played the full 90 minutes, Norrby was on the field for the final 50 minutes and Tucker entered the game in the 54th minute. When Tucker checked in, San Diego State had five true freshmen on the field in a scoreless game. Norrby and Tucker were also playing in their first career games.
- As SDSU looks to snap its two-game losing skid, it should take some solace in that it has not been shutout in consecutive games since the 2016 campaign. San Diego State has played 42 games since suffering a 2-0 loss at USD and a 3-0 defeat at No. 16 Penn State back on Sept. 2 and Sept. 9, respectively.
- The Aztecs are also looking to prevent their first three-game losing streak since the beginning of the 2016 season when they opened with an 0-4 record. They have played 42 games since last enduring a three-game skid.
- San Diego State has struggled to get shots off this season compared to its foes. Outside of tying New Mexico State with eight shots apiece, the Aztecs have been outshot by their other two opponents by a combined 37-11. SDSU's shots-on-goal percentage, however, sits at 52.6 percent, a much better clip than its foe's 33.3-percent accuracy. The Aztecs this season are putting a higher percentage of their shots on goal than in 2017, when they registered a 48.4 percentage.
- SDSU is reuniting with California for the first time since 2015. That meeting was the second in as many seasons after the Aztecs fell on the road in double overtime, 3-2, in the first round of the 2014 NCAA tournament. Nine months later, San Diego State returned to Berkeley for a regular-season match-up and fell, 2-0.
- The Aztecs will be in search of their first series win over the Golden Bears since a 2-1 victory in the second round of the 2012 NCAA tournament. SDSU is 4-8 all-time vs. California and has never won in Berkeley. Two of the last three games at Cal, however, have required overtime.
- San Diego State is looking to duplicate last year's result when it meets UC Davis on Sunday. A season ago, the Aztecs were 1-0 winners at SDSU Sports Deck after Root and Speros linked up to feed Utush for the deciding goal in the 52nd minute. The Aztec defense was stifling, limiting the Aggies to three shots with two on goal.
- SDSU is 2-1 all-time vs. UC Davis with victories coming in 2014 (2-0) and 2017 (1-0). Sandwiched in between was a 1-0 road loss in 2015.
Opponent Notebook
California
The Golden Bears, who are receiving votes in the top-25 poll, are 2-1 after falling at No. 19 Santa Clara, 4-1, and defeating Harvard, 2-0, last week... California is 2-0 at home this season with wins over Utah Valley and the Crimson... Kayla Fong leads the Golden Bears with three points (1 goal, 1 assist) and six players have two points in the early going... Nine Golden Bears in all have at least one point... Olivia Sekany has started all three games in net and has produced two shutouts and a GAA of 1.33.
UC Davis
The Aggies are 2-2 and are winners of two straight after defeating Cal Baptist, 2-0, and Sacramento State, 2-1, last week in a home/away split... UC Davis opened the year with home losses to No. 1 Stanford (5-0) and Nevada (2-1)... UCD will play host to New Mexico on Friday... Alicia Sloss leads the Aggies in points (4) and goals (2)... Margot Ridgeway and Hailey Rittershofer each have three points... Alexis Smith is the starting goalkeeper and has a GAA of 2.00 paired with 12 saves.
Women's Soccer to Head to NorCal This Week
