Game Week Preview
Wyoming (5-1-2; 0-0 MW) at San Diego State (2-6; 0-0 MW)
Friday, Sept. 21 | 7 p.m. PT | SDSU Sports Deck | San Diego, Calif.
San Diego State (2-6; 0-0 MW) at Colorado State (3-3-2; 0-0 MW)
Sunday, Sept. 23 | Noon MT | Mountain West Network | CSU Soccer Field | Fort Collins, Colo.
Notes
- San Diego State, the preseason favorites in the Mountain West, will open conference action with a home-road split weekend. The Aztecs will play host to Wyoming on Friday at 7 p.m. PT before traveling to Fort Collins to face Colorado State Sunday afternoon at noon MT.
- Friday's game at SDSU Sports Deck will not be streamed, but similar to every Aztec home game, admission is free. The tilt on Sunday, however, will be available live on the Mountain West Network.
- SDSU started the year as the preseason favorites after a poll of the league's head coaches put them at the top of the list. The Aztecs earned 112 points and four first-place votes, which was good enough to place them ahead of San José State, which finished in second place with 111 points and five first-place tallies. Wyoming and Colorado State, meanwhile, checked in at eighth (51 points) and 11th (26 points), respectively, in the 12-team league.
- The Aztecs are looking to stop a three-game skid after home losses last week to Pepperdine and eighth-ranked UCLA. San Diego State suffered three consecutive losses earlier this season and responded by shutting out UC Davis on the road, 1-0.
- This season marks the third straight year in which San Diego State has opened Mountain West play at home. The two previous seasons resulted in a 2-0 win over Air Force in 2016 and a 3-0 triumph over Nevada 12 months ago. SDSU is 7-2-2 in MW openers at home and 10-2-2 regardless of conference affiliation.
- San Diego State is 7-2-2 in Mountain West openers under head coach Mike Friesen and 10-5-4 overall in the MW era. SDSU is 13-5-4 all-time in league openers, which dates back to 1996.
- The Aztecs will open league action against Wyoming for the third time, but for the first time since 2005. SDSU was on the short end of decisions in 2003 and 2005, with both taking place in Laramie.
- San Diego State will carry a bit of Mountain West momentum into Friday's game having won four straight regular-season conference games dating to last year. Including its run in the MW Championship, which ended with SDSU raising the trophy, San Diego State has won six in a row vs. league competition.
- Since Colorado College joined the Mountain West in 2014, the Aztecs have split games in the same weekend - home and away - with Wyoming and Colorado State just once. The occurance came in '14, resulting in a 5-2 home victory over the Cowgirls and a 1-0 double-overtime effort at CSU.
- The Aztecs have spread the offense around as six different players have found the back of the net, but they are currently in a scoring drought that dates to the Sept. 7 road game at San Diego. Since Phoebe Leitch scored in the 88th minute vs. the Toreros, SDSU has gone 182 minutes and 18 seconds without celebrating a goal.
- Goalkeeper Gabby English totaled 12 saves last week with six apiece vs. Pepperdine and UCLA. The junior now has 205 career stops, putting her third all-time in the SDSU career record book. She passed Lorena Snyder (204) for third and now trails her predecessor, Melanie Vaughn (2012-15), by just two saves for second place. Aubree Southwick is the all-time leader with 338 denials.
- The Aztecs are 16-3-2 all-time vs. Wyoming and are unbeaten in their last five meetings with the Cowgirls (4-0-1). Friday's game marks the second straight season the Brown and Gold have visited SDSU Sports Deck. Last year, San Diego State posted a 2-1 victory in late October. Additionally, SDSU is 11-0 all-time vs. Wyoming at home.
- San Diego State is 5-0 lifetime vs. Colorado State and is coming off a 3-0 home win in 2017. In five meetings, SDSU has outscored the Rams, 12-1, with the lone goal coming in 2016 in Fort Collins. In three previous home games vs. CSU, the Aztecs have won by a 3-0 margin each time.
Opponent Notebook
Wyoming
The Cowgirls are unbeaten in their last three (2-0-1) and are coming off a 2-1 road win at Southern Utah last Friday... Prior to that, Wyoming turned in a 1-0-1 homestand, tying Montana, 0-0, and defeating Iowa, 1-0... The Cowgirls have been good on the road, going 3-1 with victories over South Dakota, Idaho State and SUU... The lone road loss was a 4-1 decision at Northern Colorado... Annika Clayton leads the team with five points (2g, 1a) and Sekoya Romero is Wyoming's other multiple-goal scorer (2g, 0a)... Cristina Salazar has played 573:56 with a 0.94 GAA and Hannah Lee has logged 188:55 to go with a GAA of 0.95.
Colorado State
The Rams are 2-1 in their last three games and split two games last week, losing to Gonzaga, 2-0, and defeating SMU, 1-0, at home... Colorado State has played six of its eight games at home, going 3-3 in the process... CSU just finished a six-game homestand and will hit the road for the first time since Aug. 19 on Friday at New Mexico... All eight of the Rams' games have been played in the state of Colorado... Caeley Lordemann leads CSU with four points (2g, 0a)... Hunter Pelfer has started six games (580:00; 0.78 GAA) with Gabi McDonald also seeing time in between the posts.
W. Soccer Opens Conference with Split Weekend
