SAN DIEGO – San Diego State women's soccer (5-3-5, 3-1-1 MW) defeated San Jose State (3-5-2, MW 2-2-1) 2-0 on Thursday evening at Snapdragon Stadium. An Emma Gaines-Ramos goal in the 86th minute earned the Aztecs the 2-0 win in front of a women's soccer all-time attendance record crowd of 2,546.
With the Aztecs up 1-0 in the 86th minute SDSU had a breakaway down the right flank, and the ball came to Denise Castro. Castro then took on her defender and got around her, before cutting back inside. Castro then laid the ball off to Rachelle Elve who was open in the 18-yard box, but then unselfishly played the ball across the face of goal to Gaines-Ramos who was wide open at the back post. Gaines-Ramos then rifled the ball into the roof of the net to give the Aztecs a 2-0 lead with four minutes to play.
The match was a back-and-forth contest for most of the first half, with each team looking for the breakthrough. San Diego State had more chances in the first half and outshot the Spartans 6-5, but neither team could find the back of the net in the opening 45 minutes of play, and the squads headed to the halftime break knotted up at 0-0.
The second half was when the game came to life, and the crowd inspired the Aztecs to push for the opening goal. In the 55th minute, SDSU scored the opener off of an own goal to take a 1-0 lead. Castro was fouled at the edge of the box and after a Trinity Coker free kick ricocheted to Castro outside the box, she floated in a cross that was deflected up in the air, and then came off a Spartan defender and fell into the back of the net to give the Aztecs a 1-0 lead.
San Diego State would then grab a second in the 86th minute courtesy of Gaines-Ramos. The goal was the fifth of the campaign for the junior from San Diego. SDSU outshot San Jose State 9-4 in the second half and 15-9 overall in the match.
In goal for the Aztecs, Alexa Madueno kept her second clean sheet of the campaign and produced four quality saves on the night.
The Stat: 2,546 fans attended tonight's match at Snapdragon Stadium, a new Aztec Women's Soccer record.
The Stat II: With the win the Aztecs are in sole possession of first place in the Mountain West Conference.
-SDSU-
Aztecs Take Down San Jose State 2-0
