SAN DIEGO – By a vote of the Mountain West Conference's 12 women's head soccer coaches, the San Diego State Aztecs have been predicted to finish the 2021 regular season in second place. The announcement was made at the conference office in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday.
San Diego State has been predicted to finish either first or second in the preseason poll in 11 of the last 12 years and enters this season as the most decorated program in the Mountain West with six regular-season and five tournament titles, as well as six NCAA appearances.
The Aztecs, which won the West Division of the Mountain West and competed with New Mexico for the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament last season, received three first-place votes and a total of 111 points, being edged out by UNM which garnered 118 points and nine first-place votes. Boise State came in third with 93 points followed in fourth place by Fresno State with 90 points and UNLV in fifth with 77 points. Rounding out the top half of the table, Colorado College is predicted to finish in sixth place with 65 points.
The bottom half is expected to complete the regular season in the following order. Utah State in seventh with 63 points, San Jose State in eighth (54 points), then Colorado State (52 points), Wyoming (31 points), Air Force (23 points) and Nevada (15 points).
SDSU brings back seven starters from last season, including senior striker Anna Toohey, a 2020 first-team All-Mountain West performer and the league's Newcomer of the Year. The Winston-Salem, N. C., native led the team with six goals, six assists, and three game winners and ranked second with 30 shots and 19 shots on goal. Senior midfielder Laura Fuentes and sophomore striker Emma Gaines-Ramos were also 2020 first-team honorees and return for the 2021 campaign. Sophomore keeper Alexa Madueno, who along with Toohey was included on the Mountain West All-Newcomer Team, was a second-team All-Mountain West performer.
Overall, eleven players scored the Aztecs' 26 goals last season. Eight of them are back in 2021 and accounted for 14 of the team's tallies. In addition, eight of the 12 players that produced the side's 23 assists are back. Those eight players were responsible for 83 percent of the assists (19-of-23) that the team had in 2020.
The Aztecs' regular season gets underway on Thursday, August 19, when SDSU welcomes Army West Point to SDSU Sports Deck. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game, as well as all home games, will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network.
2021 Mountain West Preseason Women's Soccer Coaches' Poll
Pl. Team (1st place votes) - Points
1. New Mexico (9) - 118
2. San Diego State (3) - 111
3. Boise State - 93
4. Fresno State - 90
5. UNLV - 77
6. Colorado College - 65
7. Utah State - 63
8. San Jose State - 54
9. Colorado State - 52
10. Wyoming - 31
11. Air Force - 23
12. Nevada – 15
-SDSU-