SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men’s soccer team will return to the SDSU Sports Deck to host Seattle Thursday at 4 p.m. The match will not be streamed and is the first game of a doubleheader with the Aztec women’s team.
Aztec Tidbits
- The Aztecs (3-0-0) and Redhawks (3-0-1) are the top two teams in the WAC standings and the only ones with a winning record.
- This is SDSU’s first match on the SDSU Sports Deck since Sept. 6, a span of 42 days.
- SDSU won at California Baptist 2-1 last Saturday, their third straight win (all on the road).
- Terence Okoeguale and André Puente scored for the Aztecs.
- This was the first time SDSU won when being outshot. It was also the first time they won when being outcornered.
- The last time the Aztecs won three straight road matches was 1989.
- This is the first time since 2011 that the Aztecs have won three straight conference matches.
- The Aztecs are tied for first in the WAC in assists (18).
- SDSU is also first in shot accuracy (0.441) and corner kicks per game (5.3).
- The Aztecs have the top RPI in the WAC at No. 58, 22 spots of No. 2 Seattle.
- SDSU is undefeated when scoring first (5-0-2) and undefeated when tied or leading at the half (5-0-2).
- The Aztecs are 21-11-5 at home since the beginning of the 2021 season.
- 13 different Aztecs have recorded a point this season and 10 have at least two points.
- The Aztecs used the same starting lineup in each of their last three matches, breaking a streak of nine consecutive matches with a different starting XI.
- San Diego State is third in the United Soccer Coaches Far West Region rankings, trailing UC Santa Barbara and Seattle.
- 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 leads 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 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
- Terence Okoeguale’s team-high 11 points (4 goals and 3 assists) are tied for the fifth most in the WAC.
- Austin Brummett leads the team with five goals and his 10 points are second on the team.
- 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 (58%) and third in shots on goal per game (1.3) and fourth in shots per game (2.2).
- Long Island transfer André Puente scored his first goal as an Aztec at California Baptist Saturday.
-Puente was named a “Defender to Watch” by the United Soccer Coaches before the season, 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.
- In conference play, goalkeeper Djibril Doumbia leads the WAC in goals against average (0.33)
- Rommee Jaridly, a Pac-12 honorable mention selection a year ago, leads the team with four assists. Last year he was second on the team with 13 points (4 goals and 5 assists).
- Forward Robbie Matei, a transfer from American University, has two game-winning goals, tied for the most in the WAC. He was a Patriot League Second Team selection in each of the last two seasons.
- 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 900 minutes this year (75/match): Beto Apolinar, Tristan Viviani, Jaridly, Israel Carrillo and Brummett.
- 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.
Opponent Notebook (Seattle)
The Redhawks are 6-3-3 and 3-0-1 in the WAC… They are 3-2-2 on the road… Last year they went 12-4-3 and 7-0-1 in the WAC and made the NCAA Tournament as an at large selection… Last week they tied UNLV 1-1 and beat Utah Tech 1-0… They have outscored their opponents 23-18 and outshot them 184-133… Titus Washington leads the team in points (14) and goals (6)… Goalkeeper Charlie Lanphier has a goals allowed average of 1.42… Head coach Nate Daligcon is in his second season as Seattle’s head coach after spending 10 seasons as an assistant… This is the first ever meeting between SDSU and Seattle.