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Dixie State (0-1-0) at San Diego State (0-0-0)
Thursday, Feb. 11 | 7 p.m. PT | SDSU Sports Deck | San Diego, Calif.
Aztec Storylines
• The Aztecs will kick off their 2020-21 season Thursday evening when they host Dixie State at 7 p.m. on the SDSU Sports Deck.
• This is an extension of the fall 2020 season which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• This will be the Aztecs' first match since November 16, 2019, a span of 452 days.
• Ryan Hopkins will be making his head coaching debut Thursday evening. Just the fourth head coach in program history, Hopkins comes to SDSU from Virginia (2018-19) whereas an assistant he helped lead the Cavaliers to the 2019 NCAA Championship match. Hopkins has also made stops as an assistant at Denver (2013-17), Wisconsin (2012), Cal Poly (2009-11) and Concordia (2004-08), his alma mater.
• Hopkins was listed as one of the Top 12 Assistant Coaches by College Soccer News in three of the last four years and was named the 2015 NSCAA West Region Assistant Coach of the Year.
• San Diego State returns 13 players, 10 letterwinners and four starters from last year's team.
• The Aztecs return their top goal scorer in Hunter George, who led SDU with five goals and was named to the 2019 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection.
• SDSU also returns Tevenn Roux, the lone senior on the roster, who tied for second on the team (with George) with 10 points and led the team with four assists.
• Other experienced returners include Laukoa Santos, Tristan Weber and Arturo Chavez.
• The Aztecs have 13 newcomers (all freshmen), and their recruiting class has been ranked in the top 10 nationally by Top Drawer Soccer.
• Andre Ochoa (Anaheim, Calif.) was named to Top Drawer Soccer's Freshman Best XI last week. Ochoa was one of just four freshmen midfielders in the nation chosen and the only Pac-12 freshman to be named to the Best XI.
• The Aztecs posted a 3.26 team GPA in the 2020 fall semester, best among SDSU's male programs.
• San Diego State will play 11 matches this spring. Thursday's match vs. Dixie State will be their lone non-conference contest and then they will play each of the five Pac-12 schools twice (home and away).
Opponent Notebook (Dixie State)
Dixie State (Saint George, Utah) is in their first year of Division I as a member of the WAC… They joined the NCAA in 2008… Last season they went 11-8-1 and 9-5-0 in the RMAC, this was their third most wins in the NCAA era… Dixie State returns seven starters and 15 letterwinners… The Trailblazers have just two seniors and 15 freshmen… They were picked to finish 11th in the WAC Preseason Coaches' Poll… They opened their season last Saturday when a 4-0 loss at home to Air Force… They were outshot 10-4 with all of their shots coming in the first half…They are coached by Jonny Broadhead (4th season), who has a 30-23-3 career record and has led the Trailblazers to 10 or more wins in two of his three seasons.
Aztecs Open Season Thursday vs. Dixie State
