SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men’s soccer team will look for their third road win in a row when they play at California Baptist Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Aztec Tidbits
- The Aztecs are coming off a successful road trip where they earned a pair of 1-0 shutouts at UNLV and at Utah Tech.
- In those matches, SDSU held their opponents to three shots on goal across the two matches.
- This was the first time the Aztecs had back-to-back shutouts on the road since 2016.
- SDSU now has three shutouts on the season, tied for the most in the WAC.
- The Aztecs are tied for second in the WAC in assists (16).
- San Diego State is third in the WAC in goals (15) and in points (45).
- SDSU is also second in shots per game (10.9) and corner kicks per game (5.5).
- The Aztecs are one of three WAC teams with a winning record.
- SDSU is undefeated when scoring first (4-0-2) and undefeated when tied or leading at the half (4-0-2).
- 12 different Aztecs have recorded a point this season and eight have at least two points.
- The Aztecs used the same starting lineup in each of their last two matches, breaking a streak of nine consecutive matches with a different starting XI.
- After playing their first five matches in San Diego (and four at home), six of SDSU’s next seven matches are on the road.
- San Diego State is fifth in the United Soccer Coaches Far West Region rankings.
- 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.
- San Diego State is second in the WAC in attendance, averaging 1,158 fans per match.
- SDSU’s match vs UC Davis on Sept. 21 at Snapdragon Stadium set a program record for attendance with 3,802 fans. All three of SDSU’s games at Snapdragon Stadium have resulted in new school records for attendance.
- In that match, the Aztecs scored their first goal just 16 seconds into the match which is believed to be the quickest goal in a game in school history.
- The Aztecs are 21-11-5 at home since the beginning of the 2021 season.
- The Aztecs ended non-conference play with a 3-4-2 record, their first time having a losing record in non-conference play since 2013. SDSU had gone undefeated in their non-conference slate in two of the previous three years.
- San Diego State has lost just four non-conference matches over their last 23 chances (14-4-5).
- SDSU is 18-2-2 in non-conference home matches under head coach Ryan Hopkins (5th season).
- SDSU has shut out their opponents in seven of their last 12 home non-conference matches.
- The Aztecs were picked to finish third in the WAC Preseason Coaches poll, trailing Seattle and California Baptist.
- 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 Aug. 26 snapped a stretch of 14 non-conference matches without a loss (11-0-3).
- 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).
Player Notes
- Beto Apolinar was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Aztecs post back-to-back shutouts last week. He also assisted SDSU’s game-winning goal at Utah Tech Sunday.
- Goalkeeper Djibril Doumbia has posted back-to-back shutouts. Doumbia is in his sixth year of college and was a three-year starter at Old Dominion.
- Austin Brummett, who was named to the Preseason All-WAC Team, scored the game-winner at UNLV last Thursday. His 10 points and five goals lead the team. He is tied for fourth in the WAC in goals scored.
- Brummett’s 12 goals over the last two seasons are tied for the most by an Aztec over a two-year span since Jeroen Meefout across the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
- Brumett is second in the WAC in shot accuracy (56%) and third in shots on goal per game (1.3) and in shots per game (2.5).
- Rommee Jaridly, a Pac-12 honorable mention selection a year ago, is tied for the WAC lead with four assists. Last year he was second on the team with 13 points (4 goals and 5 assists).
- Terence Okoeguale’s nine points (3 goals and 3 assists) are tied for the sixth most in the WAC.
- Forward Robbie Matei, a transfer from American University, scored the game-winning goal at Utah Tech Sunday, his second game-winner of the year. He was a Patriot League Second Team selection in each of the last two seasons. He is tied for second on the team with three goals.
- Long Island transfer André Puente 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.
- 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 in the preseason.
- Fisher was tabbed the WAC Preseason Defender of the Year by the league’s coaches.
- 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.
- Three players have started every match for SDSU: Brummett, Fisher and Jaridly.
- Fisher is the only Aztec to play every minute this season.
- Four other Aztecs have played at least 830 minutes this year (75/match): Beto Apolinar, Tristan Viviani, Jaridly, Brummett and Israel Carrillo.
- Beto Apolinar, the team captain, is second on the team in minutes played (85 per match).
- 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).
- 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 (California Baptist)
California Baptist is 2-3-5 on the year, 1-0-1 in the WAC and 1-2-2 at home… They have won the last two WAC Championships… Last week they beat Utah Tech 2-1 and tied UNLV 2-2… They have scored 13 goals and allowed 13, but are being outshot 174-89… Blake D’Agostino leads the team in points (8) and goals (4)… Goalkeeper Hugo Do Rego has a goals allowed average of 1.30 and three shutouts… CBU elevated to a DI program in 2018… Head coach Coe Michaelson is in his ninth season at CBU where he has an 82-48-17 record… This is just the second all-time regular season meeting between the two programs. San Diego State won a 2000 match 5-0.
Coach Hopkins’ Take on the California Baptist:
“California Baptist is the back-to-back WAC champion so we know this will be a formidable challenge on the road. Our guys are feeling confident with our run of form and looking forward to the challenge.”