SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men’s soccer team heads across the country to play at Maryland at 4 p.m. PT. The game will be streamed on B1G+, which requires a subscription. This is the Aztecs’ first game in the Eastern time zone under head coach Ryan Hopkins (5th season). SDSU last played on the East coast Sept. 29, 2019, a 2-0 win at Brown.
Aztec Tidbits
- The Aztecs are coming off a 1-0 win over Sacramento State Friday evening. After a slow start, the Aztecs outshot the Hornets 17-5 over the game’s final 75 minutes. Ferran Florencio Catalá scored the game winner in the 57th minute, his first career goal.
- The Aztecs have outshot their opponents 72-49 and hold a 37-17 advantage in corner kicks. Their 7.4 corner kicks per game is the 17th most in the nation and their opponents have yet to outcorner them in a match.
- Through five matches, SDSU already has had 10 players record a point and 17 different players have made at least one start. In Friday’s win over Sacramento State, 19 different Aztecs played with 17 of them playing at least 20 minutes.
- The Aztecs are ranked No. 6 in the United Soccer Coaches Far West Region.
- SDSU is 18-2-1 in non-conference home matches under head coach Ryan Hopkins (5th season).
- The Aztecs are 21-11-4 at home since the beginning of the 2021 season.
- SDSU has shut out their opponents in seven of their last 10 home non-conference matches.
- After playing their first five matches in San Diego (and four at home), six of SDSU’s next seven matches will be on the road.
- The Aztecs will be competing in the WAC as an affiliate member this year following the demise of the Pac-12. SDSU, who played in the Pac-12 for the past 19 years, played in the WAC from 1996-98. The WAC has sent multiple teams to the NCAA tournament in five of the last seven years.
- The Aztecs were picked to finish third in the WAC Preseason Coaches poll, trailing Seattle and California Baptist.
- San Diego State has been in the national rankings in two of the last three seasons.
- Last season was the first since 2012 that SDSU had four players with at least 10 points. Three of those players return: Austin Brummett (17), Rommee Jaridly (13) and Terence Okoeguale (10).
- SDSU’s five goals against UC Riverside in their season opener tied for their most vs. a DI opponent in the Ryan Hopkins era (5th season).
- The Aztecs’ loss at San Diego snapped a stretch of 14 non-conference matches without a loss (11-0-3).
Player Notes
- Austin Brummett, who was named to the Preseason All-WAC Team, is tied for the team lead in points (4) and goals (2) and has a team-high 19 shots and 10 shots on goal. Against Sacramento State Friday, he set career highs for shots (6) and shots on goal (4).
- Forward Robbie Matei, a transfer from American University, is tied with Brummett for the team lead in points (4) and goals (2). He scored two goals in the season opener vs. UC Riverside, his first time in his 59 career matches that he scored two goals in a game. He was a Patriot League Second Team selection in each of the last two seasons.
- Goalkeeper Eddy Vargas, a transfer from Vermont who is in his sixth year of college, has started the last three matches and has a goals allowed average of 0.86 and a save percentage of 75.0. He earned his first shutout as an Aztec Friday.
- Long Island transfer André Puente made his debut vs. Vermont Monday. He was named a “Defender to Watch” by the United Soccer Coaches, one of 16 players to be highlighted. Puente has been an All-NEC First Team selection each of the past three seasons and made the All-Northeast Region Team the past two years.
- Freshmen defenders Manu Yanguas and Nir Drori made their first career starts Friday.
- Redshirt sophomore defender Reid Fisher was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and a Freshman All-American (College Soccer News) last season.
- Both Puente and Fisher were named top 100 players in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer.
- Fisher was tabbed the WAC Preseason Defender of the Year by the league’s coaches.
- Four players have started every match for SDSU: Brummett, Matei, Fisher, and Rommee Jaridly.
- Fisher is the only Aztec to play every minute this season.
- The Aztecs return three of their top four leaders in points from a season ago, including Brummett, who had a team-high 17 points (7 goals and 3 assists).
- Rommee Jaridly, a Pac-12 honorable mention selection a year ago, was second on the team with 13 points (4 goals and 5 assists) last season. He has dished out two assists in SDSU’s first three matches.
- Jules Anderson tied for second on the team with five assists last season.
- Midfielder Daniel Pacella, one of two transfers from Vermont, made the America East Second Team twice and was the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2020-21. He scored in his Aztec debut Thursday vs. UC Riverside.
- SDSU has 10 players in their fourth, fifth or sixth year of college.
- The Aztecs return nine letterwinners and six starters. 10 returners started at least one match last season.
- SDSU has 13 newcomers (seven transfers and six freshmen).
Opponent Notebook (Maryland)
The Terrapins are 2-1-2 on the year… They were picked to finish seventh (out of 11) in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches poll… They have outscored their opponents 9-7 and outshot them 60-45… This will be their fifth straight home match, they have gone 2-1-1 in that span… William Kulvik, Alex Nitzi and Bjarne Thiesen were all named Big Ten Players to Watch… Goalkeeper Laurin Mack has a goals allowed average of 1.11… Head coach Sasho Cirovski (32nd season) had led Maryland to three national titles, nine College Cup appearances and 15 conference titles… This is the first ever meeting between San Diego State and Maryland.
Coach Hopkins’ Take on Maryland
“We are excited for the big challenge under the bright lights at Maryland. You come to San Diego State to play in these massive games, and we are excited about the opportunity ahead of us.”