SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State women's soccer team and Arizona Wildcats played their lone exhibition of the 2021 season on Tuesday night on the SDSU Sports Deck and despite the game being nearly equal on the stat sheet, the Wildcats earned a 2-0 decision.
The Aztecs used 20 players in the match, including starting assignments for freshmen Trinity Coker, Denise Castro and Sarah Funk. Castro would lead the team with three of its nine shots and had San Diego State's best chance to score. In the 78th minute and down 0-2, she found herself with the ball in the Arizona box but could not convert on a point-blank shot into an open goal.
In addition to Castro's three shots, Coker, Funk, Laura Fuentes, Lauren Dicus, Daniela Filipovic and freshman Carlin Blake produced shots. Coker, Filipovic, Funk and Blake all put their attempts on frame, but none could get one past Wildcat keeper Hope Hisey.
Arizona scored both its goals late in the first half. The first came in the 41st minute when Jill Aguilera pounced on a free ball in the box and slotted it past Aztec keeper Alexa Madueno. Then slightly less than three minutes later the Wildcats doubled the lead with a strike from Quincy Bonds to make it 2-0 just before the half.
For the match, the Wildcats outshot the Aztecs 10-to-9 and took one more corner (5-to-4) than San Diego State, but the Aztecs put four shots on goal to Arizona's three.
Madueno played 57:28 for SDSU allowing both goals and making one save. For the final 32:32, Kansas State transfer Cameron Illingworth was in goal without a shot reaching her line.
San Diego State opens the regular season on Thursday, August 19 with a home match against Army West Point. The teams are slated to kick off at 7 p.m. on the Sports Deck.