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 2022 regular season in second place. The announcement was made at the conference office in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Wednesday.
San Diego State has been predicted to finish either first or second in the preseason poll in 12 of the last 13 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 received a total of 100 points, while New Mexico earned the top spot with 121 points and 11 first-place votes. Boise State came in third with 99 points and one first-place vote, followed in fourth by Fresno State with 96 points and Utah State in fifth with 82 points. Rounding out the top half of the table, UNLV is predicted to finish in sixth place with 63 points.
The bottom half is expected to complete the regular season in the following order. Colorado State in seventh (57 points), San Jose State in eighth (48 points), then Nevada and Wyoming in ninth (34 points), followed by Colorado College (32 points) and Air Force (26 points).
SDSU brings back seven starters from last season, including sophomore striker Denise Castro, a 2021 second-team all-MW performer and all-freshman team member. The San Ysidro, California native led the Aztecs in total points in 2021 and topped the scoring charts for the Aztecs with eight goals. The Aztecs also return second-team all-MW honoree Kiera Utush in midfield. Utush, a senior from Ripon, California, started all 11 league games for the Aztecs and her 1,037 minutes were two shy of the team lead in conference action. Additionally, keeper Alexa Madueno returns between the posts for the Aztecs, the junior was a three-time MW defensive player of the week in 2021, and earned second-team all-MW in 2020. Striker Emma Gaines-Ramos also returns in 2022. She started in 19 games in 2021 and earned first-team all-MW in 2020 in which she started all 11 matches for the Aztecs and produced three assists.
Overall, seven players scored the Aztecs' 18 goals last season. Three of them are back in 2022 and accounted for 12 of the team's tallies. In addition, four of the eight players that produced the side's 15 assists are back.
The Aztecs' regular season gets underway on Thursday, August 18, when SDSU travels to Nebraska for a matchup against the Cornhuskers. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. CT, and the game will be streamed on BIG+ (subscription required).