Women's Soccer

Aztecs Set for Thursday Night Match at UCSD

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Aztecs Set for Thursday Night Match at UCSDAztecs Set for Thursday Night Match at UCSD
Derrick Tuskan/San Diego State

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State women's soccer returns to San Diego after their first road trip of 2023 to take on cross town opponent UC San Diego. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. PT in La Jolla, California and the match will be streamed on ESPN+ ($). The Aztecs are 1-0-2 all-time against the Tritons.
 
Aztecs Notes

  • Last time out the Aztecs split a pair in the Pacific Northwest. After dropping a back-and-forth contest with #17 Washington State 2-1, the Aztecs responded with a 2-0 win over Eastern Washington to conclude the trip.
  • Dori Savage scored her fourth and fifth goals of the season to lead the Aztecs to a win over Eastern Washington on Sunday. Freshman Emma Fuller assisted on the first goal Savage scored, it was the first assist of her career. The win over Eastern Washington was head coach Mike Friesen's 175th in charge of the program.
  • Two weeks ago the Aztecs earned an impressive 1-1 draw against one of the best teams on the west coast in Pepperdine in the final seconds on Thursday, before falling to Long Beach State on Sunday 3-0.
  • In the match against Pepperdine (Aug. 24), the Aztecs fell behind during 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 (Aug. 17), before earning a comeback win over UTEP on Sunday morning 2-1 (Aug. 20).
  • 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 their opening weekend. The Aztecs took down UTEP, with rain coming down and strong winds throughout the morning, courtesy of a Dori Savage brace. The two goals were the first of Savage's collegiate career.

Instant Impact

  • Dori Savage (Chula Vista, Calif.) has quickly made a name for herself coming off the bench for the Aztecs. The local product has scored five times off the bench to lead the Aztecs in the scoring column. She has two braces on the year, the first came against UTEP and the second came last time out at Eastern Washington.

21 Savage

  • Dori Savage has scored five goals in 2023. The sophomore's five goals are the second most scored off the bench by any women's soccer player in the country this season. She is tied for 21st nationally in goals scored, and is 29th in the nation in goals per game at 0.83 per game. Her five goals over 256 minutes played comes out to a goal scored every 51 minutes of action.

That's a First  

  • Dori Savage 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 15 total matches for the Aztecs over the course of the 2022 and 2023 seasons and has scored five goals. All five of those goals have come in the 2023 season where she has played just 256 minutes
  • Four Aztecs made their collegiate or San Diego State debut in the 2-0 win over Sacred Heart to open the season. Boston Girman and Lily Boudet made their first collegiate appearances, while Kali Trevithick and Bekah Brooks made their SDSU debuts. Additionally, Emma Fuller and Sofia Bacsafra both earned their first career minutes in the win at Eastern Washington (9/3).
  • Olivia Sekimoto scored the first goal of the season in the Aztecs win over Sacred Heart. 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). Emma Fuller also earned the first assist of her career in the win at Eastern Washington (9/3).

 
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, Emma Fuller, Emma Gaines-Ramos, and Castro all have dished out assists.
  • The Aztecs have multiple players amongst the best statistically in the Mountain West. Dori Savage leads the conference in total points with 10 points, courtesy of the five goals she has scored. She is also first in the conference in points per game with 1.67, and leads the conference in goals scored with five, and is first in goals per game at 0.83.
  • Denise Castro is tied for 10th in the MW in total points with five, but leads the conference in total shots with 21, and is also tops in the conference in shots per game with 3.50.
  • Alexa Madueno is second in the conference in total saves with 32, is second in the conference in saves per game at 5.33 and is fourth in the conference in save percentage at 82.1%.

 
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 32 stops in goal so far this season, Madueno has climbed to third all-time in saves with 239. 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 1.34. 

2022 Year in Review

  • 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.

     Scouting UC San Diego

  • UC San Diego enters Thursday's matchup with a 1-2-2 record to begin their campaign. Last time out the Tritons earned a 0-0 draw at Rhode Island before dropping the Sunday match at Brown, 2-0. UCSD has scored five goals on the year, but have not found the back of the net in their last three matches, after earning an opening night draw at Pacific 4-4, before beating Sacred Heart 1-0 their next time out. Raquel Kalpakoff leads the Tritons in scoring with three goals in just 96 minutes of action, while Courtney Hillard is second on the team in goals with two goals over five matches played.