LOS ANGELES – The Aztec men's soccer team (1-0-1) earned a 0-0 draw at No. 17 LMU (1-0-1) Monday evening, their second consecutive shutout to begin the season.
"Tonight showed the steps we are taking as a program to tie a nationally ranked team on the road yet come away disappointed, head coach Ryan Hopkins said after the match. "I thought we controlled a majority of the game and played a more attractive style, but we weren't sharp enough in the final third to get a goal to win the game. However, we competed and stayed composed against some very physical play which I was proud to see."
The match was tightly contested from the opening kick. The schools combined for just one shot on goal in the first half, but both began to create scoring opportunities in the second frame.
SDSU's first great look came in the 66th minute when Henry Smith-Hastie, the SMU transfer who made his first start as an Aztec, had a long-range strike that LMU's Jacob Jackson dove to his left to deflect.
The Lions had four shots from the 77th to 81st minute with the most dangerous coming in the 80th minute when a cross was back flipped in front of the goal by Duhaney Williams but collected by SDSU keeper Jacob Castro.
In the 85th minute, So Nishikawa, another Aztec earning his first career start, got behind the Lion back line and sent a dangerous low cross into the box that just missed connecting.
In the 88th minute, SDSU nearly took the lead on a connection from the Roux brothers, Donovan and Tevenn who were playing together for the first time in the Scarlet and Black, but Tevenn's shot missed just wide right.
LMU had a 2-0 shot advantage in the first period of extra time but saw Ronaldo Brown issued a red card in the 99th minute, but the Aztecs were unable to get a shot off in extra time
Aztec goalkeeper Jacob Castro (1-0-1) collected five saves and picked up his second consecutive clean sheet.
STAT OF THE MATCH
The Aztecs have shutout their first two opponents, the first time they have posted clean sheets in their first two matches of a season since 2005.
THE NOTE
Newcomers So Nishikawa and Henry Smith-Hastie earned their first career starts as an Aztec. Additionally, freshman Rik Regeling made his SDSU debut in extra time.
UP NEXT
The Aztecs play at Cal Poly (1-1-0) Friday evening at 7 p.m. The Mustangs beat Saint Mary's 2-1 on the road Monday night.