SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Diego State women's soccer concluded their California road trip with a 2-2 draw at San Jose State on Sunday afternoon at the Spartan Soccer Complex. The Aztecs came back from down a goal twice to earn the draw.
The Spartans (2-3-5, 0-0-2 MW) opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Taylor Phillips got on the score sheet, giving SJSU a 1-0 lead, and the Aztecs (6-2-2, 1-0-1 MW) were on the hunt for an equalizer from that point onward. SDSU tallied six shots in the first half, with three of them coming on frame, but Bente Pernot made a few smart stops to keep the Aztecs off the score sheet.
The offense came to life in the second half for the Aztecs. In the opening minute of the half Emma Gaines-Ramos had a great opportunity to level the match for the Aztecs, but her shot went just high and SDSU continued to pile on the pressure in front of the Spartans goal. Nine minutes later the Aztecs drew level with the Spartans. Trinity Coker smashed the ball down the left flank, allowing Denise Castro to run onto it. Castro then danced into the 16-yard box, dribbled around two defenders, and then fired the ball into the back of the net to tie the match at 1-1. The goal was Castro's sixth of the season, and puts her at 21 career goals at San Diego State.
The Spartans would crawl in front against the run of play five minutes later in the 59th minute when Sabrina Weinman slotted home a penalty, giving SJSU a 2-1 lead with a half hour to play. San Diego State would control the run of play for the remainder of the match as they searched for a second equalizer.
With 16 minutes to go in the match, the Aztecs earned a throw in. Castro eventually picked up the ball in her own half, took a few touches and then sent the ball all the way across the field from the right side to the left, and picked out Gaines-Ramos in the process. Gaines-Ramos then dribbled her way down the left flank and into the Spartans penalty box. She then took on two defenders, got by both of them and then slotted the ball past Pernot in goal to draw the Aztecs level at 2-2.
Both teams would then push for a winner, but keeper Alexa Madueno made two huge stops late in the match to keep the draw intact. Gaines-Ramos and Alexys Ocampo both had late shots saved as well, and the match ended 2-2.
Up Next: The Aztecs return home to the SDSU Sports Deck to take on Air Force on Thursday evening.
Game Notes
- Through 10 matches the Aztecs have scored 22 goals, their most to start a season since the Aztecs scored 25 goals in their opening 10 matches in 2020. The 22 goals are the second most goals scored through 10 matches under head coach Mike Friesen, and is tied for the fourth most goals to start a season in program history.