SAN DIEGO – San Diego State women's soccer finishes their pacific northwest road trip on Sunday when they play Eastern Washington at noon PT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ ($) and the Aztecs are 1-0 all-time against the Eagles.
Aztec Notes
- Last week the Aztecs earned an impressive 1-1 draw with Pepperdine in the final seconds on Thursday, before falling to Long Beach State on Sunday 3-0.
- In the match on Thursday against Pepperdine, the Aztecs fell behind at the midway point of the second half before Dori Savage leveled the match at the 89:15 mark. The goal was the Aztecs first 90th minute goal since Denise Castro scored in the 90th minute to beat Nebraska in the 2022 season opener.
- San Diego State opened the 2023 regular season with two wins to open the season. SDSU took down Sacred Heart 2-0 in the season opener, before earning a 2-1 comeback win over UTEP.
- SDSU improved to 20-14-1 in season openers at home and has now won five of their last six season openers. Olivia Sekimoto scored the first goal of the season, while forward Denise Castro provided the Aztecs with a late second goal to earn the win.
- San Diego State also earned a win in tough conditions over UTEP to close out opening weekend. The Aztecs took down UTEP in a driving rain and strong winds, courtesy of a Dori Savage brace. The two goals were the first of Savage's collegiate career.
That's a First
- Dori Savage (Chula Vista, Calif.) scored two goals against UTEP on August 20. Those two goals were the first brace of her collegiate career, as well as the first two goals overall of her career. Savage has appeared in 13 total matches for the Aztecs over the course of the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
- Four Aztecs made their collegiate or San Diego State debut in the 2-0 win over Sacred Heart to open the season. Boston Girman (Cotati, Calif.) and Lily Boudet (Montpellier, France) made their first collegiate appearances, while Kali Trevithick (Anchorage, Alaska) and Bekah Brooks (Santa Clarita, Calif.) made their SDSU debuts.
- Olivia Sekimoto scored the first goal of the season on Thursday, it was the second goal of her career (first was 8/21/22 vs. Idaho).
- Alyza Eckhardt (National City, Calif.) and Alexys Ocampo (Upland, Calif.) both dished out their first career assists on against UTEP (8/24).
Climbing the Ranks
- Keeper Alexa Madueno, a three-year starter to date on The Mesa, continues to climb the ranks of the SDSU record book. After making seven stops over the first weekend and an additional 16 in the second weekend of action, Madueno has climbed to third all-time in saves with 230. Additionally with the shutout win over Sacred Heart in the season opener, Madueno continues her climb up the career shutouts board and now sits sixth all-time with 17. Madueno is also eighth in the record book in career goals against average at 1.35.
Player Notes
- Five different Aztecs have either scored goals or tallied assists in 2023. Dori Savage, Denise Castro and Olivia Sekimoto have all found the back of the net, while Alyza Eckhardt, Alexys Ocampo and Emma Gaines-Ramos all have dished out assists.
- SDSU brings back eight starters from last season, including their top two goal scorers in Emma Gaines-Ramos and Denise Castro who scored six and seven goals apiece.
- San Diego State returns all four players who earned all-conference honors in 2022. Denise Castro and Emma Gaines-Ramos in attack earned first-team all-conference, Kiera Utush was placed on the second team, while Grace Goins returns at centerback and was named to the all-newcomers team in 2022.
- Kiera Utush enters her fifth season at San Diego State. The Rocklin, California native has been a force along the backline and has made a total of 74 appearances (61 starts) for the Scarlet and Black.
- Alexa Madueno returns in goal for San Diego State. The redshirt junior from Woodland, California is currently ranked in the top eight in five different categories in the SDSU record book entering the 2023 season. Madueno is currently third in career saves with 230, is fifth on the single-season saves list with 92 shots stopped during the 2022 season, sixth in career shutouts with 17, eighth in career goals against average at 1.35, and is tied for tenth in single-season shutouts with seven shutouts recorded during the 2022 season.
Scouting Washington State
- Washington State enters this weekend's matchup a perfect 4-0-0. The Cougars are ranked #17 nationally in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll, and are fresh off of wins at Portland State 1-0, and a home win over Weber State 3-1. Washington State is one of four Pac-12 teams currently ranked along with #1 UCLA, #3 Stanford, and #19 USC. WSU are led by Todd Shulenberger who enters his ninth season at the helm of the Cougar program and is the Cougars all-time wins record holder with 93 total victories. Three different Cougars have scored at least two goals so far in 2023, with Naomi Clark topping the charts with three goals so far.
Scouting Eastern Washington
- The Eagles enter this weekend's matches with an 0-3-0 record. They are led by the third-year head coach Missy Strasburg. Offensively Eastern Washington are led by Grace Terrill who has scored two goals in the first two weeks of play, while four different Eagles have dished out one assist to begin 2023. Defensively the Eagles have Kamryn Willoughby in goal who has played in all three of the teams matches this season.