SAN DIEGO – After a two-week road trip, the San Diego State women’s soccer team returned to America’s Finest City on Thursday night for a match against the San Jose State Spartans on the SDSU Sports Deck. For the second straight match, Grace Goins got things going for the Aztecs with a first-half goal assisted by Trinity Coker. Denise Castro added on with a penalty kick late in the 85th minute to provide insurance. A Spartan goal with 35 seconds remaining brought the final to 2-1 as SDSU head coach Mike Friesen picked up his Mountain West record 191st career victory.
It looked as if San Jose State (0-11-4, 0-5-2 MW) took an early lead with its second goal of the conference season late in the fifth minute, but the referees signaled that the Spartans were offsides. San Diego State (5-7-3, 3-2-2 MW) came right down the field afterwards, with Kali Trevithick taking a shot on goal that was saved by Spartan keeper Shayla Sugai. After a yellow card in the 19th minute was given to SJSU’s Evan House, the Aztecs were on the attack again as Denise Castro was able to get a pair of shots on goal, but they were both saved. In the 29th minute, SDSU got on the board as, on a corner kick, Trinity Coker passed in to Grace Goins, who found the back of the net to give the Aztecs the 1-0 advantage. The offenses took a backseat for the remainder of the first half with a yellow card on San Jose State’s Tiana Cello being the most notable action.
The Spartan offense came out of the break hot, but Alexa Madueno kept them off the board with saves in the 47th and 54th minutes. Mia Lane forced another Sugai save in the 61st minute but the Spartans marched down the field afterwards leading to a shot on goal by Tatianna Cunningham that Madueno stopped. A minute later, San Jose State picked up its third yellow card of the match, this one on Tasia Kravitz. Following a Carlin Blake shot on goal in the 68th minute, the defenses took over until the final ten minutes of the match.
Kali Trevithick and Denise Castro were able to force two more saves by Sugai in the 82nd and 83rd minutes, respectively. Late in the 85th minute, a yellow card on SJSU’s Carly Burns led to a Denise Castro penalty kick, which she converted, firing to the bottom right of the goal. Madueno made another save in the 86th minute to keep her shutout intact. As the match entered its final minute, Madueno looked to be headed towards her school record 27th career shutout, the Spartans’ Kayla Fortenberry slipped a ball past her on a deflection at the 89:25 mark to get San Jose State on the board, leading to the 2-1 final.
San Diego State totaled more shots (25-9), shots on goal (9-5) and corner kicks (7-1) while San Jose State finished with more fouls (8-4) and saves (6-4).
Friesen’s 191st win as head coach of the Aztecs passes Jennifer Rockwood’s 190 wins as head coach of Brigham Young while the Cougars were in the Mountain West for the most overall wins by a Mountain West head coach. He also holds the record for most conference wins with 109.
Madueno totaled four saves to increase her program record career tally to 384. She has another opportunity to break the tie with Aubree Southwick atop the school career shutouts leaderboard (26) on Sunday against Fresno State.
Goins, who entered the season with an assist in 2022 marking the only point of her career, has now scored for the third time this season and in back-to-back matches. She scored the lone goal for San Diego State in a 1-1 draw with Weber State on August 18 and got the Aztecs on the board last Sunday at Air Force in a match that finished in a 2-2 tie.
Castro’s goal tonight was her first career goal on a penalty kick despite being her 32nd career goal. The Aztecs’ team leader in goals and points in each of her four seasons on The Mesa, Castro’s seven goals in 15 matches this year equal her season total in 2022, when she played 20 matches. Her seven goals this season are also only one shy of her eight in 18 matches in 2021. Her new career total of 76 points breaks a tie with Hannah Keane and passes Cat Walker, moving her up to fourth in the program leaderboard while her 32nd goal has her fifth in that category, trailing Walker’s total of 33 by a lone goal.
For the second consecutive match, Coker assisted on a goal by Goins, both coming on passes from first-half corner kicks to get on the board. Coker’s second assist of the season is a career high as she had one assist in each of her first three seasons as an Aztec. Her six points on the season are a career high as well, passing her five points in each of her last two campaigns.
San Diego State will be back on the SDSU Sports Deck at noon on Sunday against Fresno State. The match is free to attend and will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network for those who cannot make it to The Mesa.