ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The San Diego State women’s soccer team wrapped up its 2024 regular season on Thursday night with a match at New Mexico. SDSU scored three times in the first half before Dori Savage added her second goal of the night in the second half to close out a 4-1 victory. The Aztecs’ win clinched them the fourth seed in next week’s Mountain West Championship while the loss knocked New Mexico out of the tournament.
The San Diego State (8-7-4, 6-2-3 Mountain West) attack made it a long night for New Mexico (7-6-5, 3-5-3 MW) keeper Callie Droitsch. Emma Gaines-Ramos put a shot on goal in just the fourth minute. Ten minutes later, Carlin Blake passed into the box to Denise Castro, who found Dori Savage, who buried the ball in the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead. The Lobos put a shot on goal for the first time in the 19th minute, but Alexa Madueno made a one-handed save to keep New Mexico off the board. Madueno made another save in the 23rd minute. Seconds later, Gaines-Ramos had a shot deflected, rebounded the ball and fired past Droitsch for the second Aztec goal of the night. SDSU had a free kick on the attacking end of the field in the 40th minute. Blake passed in to Mia Lane in front of the goal, who scored with her right foot to put the Aztecs in front 3-0. Madueno rounded out the first half with saves at the 40-minute mark and in the 45th minute.
Less than a minute into the second half, Gaines-Ramos forced another save by Droitsch. Four minutes after that, she did it again. Madueno tallied another save of her own at the end of the 50th minute to keep New Mexico off the board. The Lobos finally got one by Madueno a minute later when Ellie Robinson scored with an assist from Logan Nicholson.
The Aztec keeper bounced back as Madueno made saves in the 67th, 79th, 80th, and 82nd minutes to keep the Lobos from getting back in the match. In the 84th minute, Gaines-Ramos had a shot saved, but the ball bounced high in the air. Savage collected the rebound and scored her second goal of the match. A team save in the 87th minute thwarted New Mexico’s final comeback attempt as the Aztecs ended the Lobos’ season.
San Diego State tallied more shots (23-19) and saves (9-4) while New Mexico had more shots on goal (11-8) and each team had six corner kicks.
Madueno’s nine saves increased her career total to 404. She became the first Aztec to record 400 saves in her career.
Savage’s goal to begin the match came just 16 minutes of game time after her game winner against Colorado State on Sunday. Both goals gave SDSU a 1-0 lead, which the Aztecs would not relinquish. Her second goal picked up her first brace of the season and against Mountain West competition in her career. She had a pair of braces in non-conference matches last year.
Gaines-Ramos scored her sixth goal of the season, which matches a career-high she set two seasons ago. Her assist reclaimed sole possession of the team lead with seven.
Lane scored for the second time this season and in her career. She joins Alexyz Nakamoto and Logan Nidy as the only Aztec freshmen to score multiple times in a season over the last three years.
Blake’s assists were her first in Mountain West play this season. Her two assists also marked the second time she accomplished the feat this season. She had a pair of assists in the win against Eastern Washington. Her sixth assist of the year tied Gaines-Ramos for the team lead before the latter had an assist of her own later in the match.
The fourth-seeded Aztecs will be back on the SDSU Sports Deck on Sunday for their Mountain West Championship Quarterfinal match against No. 5-seeded UNLV at 7 p.m. PT. The entire tournament will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network.