ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – San Diego State women's soccer, fresh off their MW tournament quarterfinal win on Sunday over Utah State, is set to play top seeded Wyoming on Wednesday at 4 p.m. MT.
Pressure Moments
- San Diego State enters the Mountain West tournament semifinal after a marathon penalty shootout in the quarterfinal round against Utah State. The No. 5 seeded Aztecs earned a thrilling 19-18 penalty shootout win over the Aggies to advance to the semifinals and will play top seeded Wyoming on Wednesday at 4 p.m. MT.
- In what is believed to be an NCAA record, the Aztecs prevailed over Utah State after 22 rounds of penalties on Sunday. In total 44 penalty kicks were taken during the shootout, and 37 of those kicks were scored as the Aztecs emerged victorious after a marathon of spot kicks.
- SDSU heads into the semifinal round of the tournament having only given up three goals in their last nine matches of the 2022 season. The Aztec backline lead by keeper Alexa Madueno has also posted six shutouts over those nine matches.
- As for Wyoming, SDSU earned a 2-1 win over the Cowgirls during regular season play. Goals from first-team all-conference member Emma Gaines-Ramos, and second-team selection Kiera Utush sealed the win for the Aztecs on the SportsDeck. All-time the Aztecs are 18-6-2 against Wyoming, and are 13-4-1 under Friesen.
- During conference play as a whole, San Diego State has reached eight of the last nine Mountain West Tournament Championship matches, and has advanced to the NCAA tournament in four of those seasons. 2021 was the only season that the Aztecs did not reach the MW tournament final in those nine seasons.
Aztec Accolades
- Four Aztecs earned spots on the Mountain West all-conference teams, which was announced on Sunday afternoon. Denise Castro, Gaines-Ramos, Grace Goins, and Utush garnered All-Mountain West honors. Castro and Gaines-Ramos earned first-team honors, while Utush earned a second-team selection, and Goins was named to the newcomers team.
- Castro, a sophomore midfielder/forward, earned first-team all-conference honors for the first time in her SDSU career. The MW offensive player of the week for the week of August 22nd, earned six points during conference play. She scored the game winning goal at Air Force to give the Aztecs a 2-1 win, and scored the Aztecs second goal in the 3-3 comeback draw with Colorado College. The San Ysidro, California native also tallied two assists during the MW campaign, appeared in all 11 contests for SDSU throughout the conference season, and started all 11 games and played 934 minutes in conference play.
- Gaines-Ramos broke out in a big way in 2022 en-route to her first career first-team all-conference selection. The junior from San Diego, lead the Aztecs and was in the top three in the conference in almost every offensive statistical category during conference play. Gaines-Ramos scored three goals in conference play and tallied five assists during the 2022 MW season. Her five total assists put her in a tie for first in the conference, and her 0.45 assists per match average was also tied for first in the conference.
- Utush, a senior defender from Rocklin, California earned second-team all-conference honors and played an integral part in the Aztecs defense all season. She started and completed all 90 minutes in all 11 conference matches, totaling 990 minutes of play during conference action. Utush also scored the game winning goal in the Aztecs 2-1 win over Wyoming and provided an assist on the third goal in the Aztecs 3-3 comeback draw with Colorado College. Defensively, Utush was part of a backline that gave up just three goals during the final eight matches of conference play, and helped the Aztecs post five shutouts in conference action.
- Goins, a freshman defender from Folsom, California earned a spot on the newcomers team. As a true freshman Goins started and played in all 11 matches throughout the conference slate for the Aztecs, totaling 990 minutes of action during conference play. A force at centerback for SDSU, Goins helped the Aztecs give up just three goals in their final eight conference matches, and played an integral part in the Aztecs only giving up nine goals during conference play as a whole. Goins was the only defender named to the Mountain West all-Newcomers team.
At The Peak
- San Diego State has multiple players in the top-10 in terms of overall stats in the conference in a variety of categories. Denise Castro currently leads the conference in total game-winning goals with three, while she is also fourth in the conference in total points with 18, tied for third in goals scored with 7, and is tied for fifth in the conference in shots on goal with 19.
- Emma Gaines-Ramos is also amongst the leaders in the MW Conference. She ranks first in assists with seven, third in points with 19, tied for fourth in shots on goal with 22, and is tied for fourth in goals with seven.
Shot Stopper
- Junior keeper Alexa Madueno has moved into the top-10 all-time in career saves this season. Madueno has stopped 205 shots in her career, including 90 so far this season, putting her fifth all-time in career saves at San Diego State. Her 90 saves during the 2022 campaign puts her in a tie for fifth all-time on the single season saves list.
Sharing The Wealth
- San Diego State scored a total of nine goals in the first two weeks of the season, including putting seven past Idaho on August 28.
- Those seven goals scored against Idaho were the most the Aztecs had scored in a match since the 2008 season when the Aztecs beat the Air Force Academy 7-0.
- The Aztecs have a total of 24 assists through 19 matches this season, and 11 different players have assisted on those goals.
The Chase For 100
- Head Coach Mike Friesen finished the 2022 campaign with 98 career regular season MW wins at the helm of San Diego State women's soccer. The 16-year MW veteran head coach, who is already the winningest coach all-time in conference history would become the first MW head coach to reach the milestone in the league's history.
Into the History Books
- San Diego State women's soccer, like many programs around the country, saw an uptick in the amount of draws they earned during the 2022 regular season due to the new rule change of no overtime in the regular season in NCAA soccer. The Aztecs posted a program record seven draws in 2022, one more than the previous program record of six which was set in the 2004 campaign.
-SDSU-
Aztecs Set For MW Semifinal Clash With Wyoming
