SAN DIEGO – San Diego State women's soccer clinched their seventh Mountain West regular season title on Thursday evening, with a 2-0 win on senior night over New Mexico on the SDSU Sports Deck. Kiera Utush and Denise Castro provided the goals in the win for the Aztecs.
"Any time you win a championship it's special," head coach Mike Friesen said. "I'm so proud of this team for the work they have done from January until now to put us in a position. What we have been willing to do on a daily basis is going to put you in a position to win a title, and we were able to do so tonight."
With the win San Diego State moves to 14-3-2 on the year and won the Mountain West regular season title with a 9-1-1 record in conference play and 28 points.
"As a coach you think this is going to happen every year, and we've been really close the last couple years. But then you realize how special these moments are and how hard it is to win a championship," Friesen said.
Neither team were able to get a goal in the first half, although the Aztecs outshot New Mexico 6-5 in the opening frame and the teams went into the locker rooms tied at 0-0. However, the second half was a different story from the moment the half started.
San Diego State put on the pressure in the opening minutes of the half and were rewarded. After three early shots to start the second half, the Aztecs earned a corner in the 50th minute. Carlin Blake then sent in a ball that Kiera Utush got her head on. The senior then headed it home on senior night to give San Diego State a 1-0 lead with 40 minutes to play. The Rocklin, California native has now scored a goal in four straight matches for San Diego State
Even after finding the back of the net, the Aztecs remained on the offensive. San Diego State tallied 15 shots in the second half, but were not able to put the game to bed until the 89th minute.
After the Lobos earned a free kick in a dangerous spot just outside the Aztecs 18-yard box, they sent the ensuing ball directly into the box, which was headed away by an Aztec defender Carlin Blake then got to the loose ball and sent it forward to a sprinting Castro, who dribbled around the New Mexico keeper who was standing on the halfway line. The junior then took the ball the length of the field and slotted it home to give San Diego State a 2-0 advantage with just a 1:23 remaining on the clock. With the strike, Castro now has 10 goals on the season.
The final few seconds then ticked away and the Aztecs celebrated as they were crowned Mountain West regular season champions for the seventh time in program history.
Up Next: San Diego State heads to Laramie, Wyoming for the Mountain West Championships. The Aztecs, who are the No. 1 seed in the tournament, will take on the winner of #4 seed Colorado State and #5 seed Fresno State. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. MT (1 p.m. MT).
Game Notes:
- San Diego State claimed their 12th overall Mountain West title, and seventh regular season title. The title was their first since SDSU won the 2019 regular season.
- San Diego State finishes the regular season 14-3-2 and 9-1-1 in conference play. The 14 wins are the most the Aztecs have earned since 2015.
- The Aztecs enter the Mountain West Tournament as the No. 1 seed for the sixth time in program history, and are the No. 1 seed for the first time since 2015.
- Denise Castro scored her 10th goal of the season in the win. She is the first Aztec since 2017 to score at least 10 goals in a season.
- With her goal tonight Castro has now scored 25 goals in her career, putting her in a tie for sixth all-time in career goals. Castro is one goal shy of cracking the top 10 all-time in a single season at San Diego State
- Alexa Madueno recorded her 300th career save in the win. She is only the second Aztec in program history to reach that milestone.
- Madueno tallied another shutout in the win and now has 22 for her career.