SAN DIEGO – The Aztec women's soccer team begins the Mountain West Tournament Wednesday at 1 p.m. when they take on the No. 4 seed Colorado State in the semifinals in Laramie, Wyo. SDSU enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed for the sixth time in program history and for the first time since 2015.
Aztecs Notes
- SDSU captured their seventh regular season Mountain West Championship, and first since 2019, after beating New Mexico 2-0 on Thursday. The Aztecs now have 12 overall Mountain West titles.
-The Aztecs are 14-3-2, good for a .789 winning percentage. SDSU's 14 wins heading into Wednesday are their most in a season since 2015 when SDSU went 15-4-1 overall and earned the MW regular season crown.
-The Aztecs tied a school record after having seven players earn All-Mountain West honors. SDSU placed five players on the first team, two on the second team and had Denise Castro win Offensive Player of the Year.
-Joining Castro on the first team was goalkeeper Alexa Madueno, midfielder Alexys Ocampo, midfielder Olivia Sekimoto and defender Kiera Utush. Forward Emma Gaines-Ramos and defender Grace Goins were selected to the second team. The seven total honorees matches the program record set in 2011.
-Last time out, SDSU beat New Mexico 2-0 in the regular season finale. The Aztecs outshot the Lobos 21-11 and had goals from Kiera Utush and Denise Castro. Carlin Blake provided assists on both goals.
The Aztecs are ranked in the top three in the Mountain West as a team in multiple categories. San Diego State leads the conference in points (122), goals (43), goals per game (2.26), assists (36), assists per game (1.89) and goal differential (+23).
Player Notes
-Thirteen different Aztecs have either scored goals or tallied assists in 2023. Carlin Blake, Denise Castro, Trinity Coker, Alyza Eckhardt, Alexys Ocampo, Emma Gaines-Ramos, Dori Savage, Olivia Sekimoto, Kali Trevithick, Kiera Utush, and Jenna West have all found the back of the net. Additionally, Castro, Blake, Eckhardt, Emma Fuller, Gaines-Ramos, Ocampo, Katie Senn, Trevithick, Utush, and West have all have dished out assists.
-Castro is tied for third in the conference in total points with 26. She is tied for second in goals scored with 10 and is also tied for second in the conference in assists with six. Over her three years on The Mesa, Castro has scored 25 goals putting her tied for sixth all-time in career goals at SDSU. Her 60 total points (24G, 11A) also put her ninth all-time in total points at San Diego State.
-The Aztecs have multiple players amongst the best statistically in the Mountain West. Emma Gaines-Ramos is tied for sixth in the conference in total points with 15, while Kali Trevithick is tied for eighth on 14 points.
-In the assists category San Diego State has four players listed amongst the top 10 in the conference. Alexys Ocampo has tallied six assists and is currently tied for second in the conference in the category, along with Castro who also has six assists. Emma Gaines-Ramos and Carlin Blake are tied for sixth with five assists. 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.
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 95 stops in goal so far this season, Madueno has climbed to second all-time in saves with 302 career saves. Additionally with the shutout wins over Sacred Heart, Air Force, Boise State, UNLV, New Mexico as well as two combined shutouts in the wins over Eastern Washington and USD, Madueno continues her climb up the career shutouts board and now sits fourth all-time with 21. Madueno is also eighth in the record book in career goals against average at 1.28.
Team Notes
Head Coach Mike Friesen continues his 17th campaign leading the Mountain West's most successful women's soccer program. Friesen has guided his squad to ten Mountain West championships (five tournament and six regular season), and five NCAA Tournament appearances, both the most among any current league head coach. Now in his 17th season of conference play, Friesen has a 106-35-20 record. His 106 league victories are the most by any head coach in Mountain West history (the inaugural season of the MW was in 1999).
Friesen's 185 victories (185-114-45) since the start of the 2007 season, the year he took control of the program, are the most by any current coach in the Mountain West and rank second in league history (Jennifer Rockwood, BYU, 190 victories). Colorado College's Geoff Bennett's 150 victories in the last 16 seasons ranks second among current MW head coaches.
The Aztecs have won 10 of the last 21 MW trophies (regular season and tournament), all of which have come under the direction of head coach Mike Friesen. In total, the 17th-year head coach has guided San Diego State to 12 conference titles.
San Diego State has earned 12 Mountain West titles since the conference's inception in 1999. SDSU was the regular season champions in 1999, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019 and 2023). The program was the tournament champion in 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2017, and its five tournament titles are the most among any current member of the Mountain West and the second best in the league's history (BYU, 7).
Opponent Notebook
Colorado State is 12-5-3 overall and went 6-3-2 in Mountain West play... They are the No. 4 seed and beat the No. 5 seed, Fresno State 2-0 in the first round Sunday... It was CSU's first time winning in the conference tournament... SDSU beat the Rams 3-2 in Fort Collins on Oct. 22... The Rams lead the Mountain West in three stat categories: shutout percentage (.450), shot accuracy (.517) and corner kicks per game (6.75)... Olivia Fout leads the Mountain West in points (27) and goals (12)... Goalkeeper Shayna Ross has a goals allowed average of 1.10... Head coach Keeley Hagen is in her third season... The Aztecs are 8-1-1 all-time vs. CSU... This is their first time playing on a neutral field.
Aztecs Set to Take on CSU in MW Semifinals Wed.
