SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men’s soccer team begins the WAC Tournament Wednesday when they play the five seed San Jose State in the semifinals at 3 p.m. PT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
Aztec Tidbits
- The Aztecs went undefeated (7-0-1) in the WAC and won the WAC regular season championship, the program’s first conference championship in school history.
- SDSU shut out their opponents in six of their eight WAC matches.
- The Aztecs’ 10 wins are their most since 2011. Wednesday, they will match their most wins in a season since 1990 (also 11).
- SDSU didn’t trail in any of their WAC matches, a span of 720 minutes. The last time they trailed was Sept. 28 at UC Irvine.
- The Aztecs are ranked No. 22 in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer.
- SDSU beat Air Force 2-0 in the regular season finale. It was the first WAC match that wasn’t decided by one goal or a draw.
- The Aztecs are No. 46 in the RPI rankings, 12 spots ahead of the next closest WAC team (Seattle).
- In conference play, SDSU led the WAC in goals allowed average (0.25) and shutout percentage (0.75).
- The Aztecs were heavily recognized in the WAC postseason awards with Ryan Hopkins winning Coach of the Year and Djibril Doumbia winning Goalkeeper of the Year. In total, four Aztecs made the first team and two more made the second team, a school record for first team selections and total honorees.
- SDSU is undefeated when scoring first (9-0-2) and undefeated when tied or leading at the half (9-0-3).
- The Aztecs are No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches Far West Region poll.
- SDSU is undefeated in their last five road matches (4-0-1), the first time that’s happened since 1989.
- The Aztecs gave Seattle their first conference loss since the 2022 season on Oct. 17.
- SDSU has won seven matches in a row that were decided by one goal.
- 12 of the Aztecs’ 16 matches have been a draw or been decided by one goal (8-1-3).
- SDSU is 24-11-5 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- SDSU’s adjusted non-conference RPI is No. 15 in the nation. Four of their non-conference opponents have a RPI rank in the top 28.
- San Diego State has lost just four non-conference matches over their last 23 chances (14-4-5) and is 18-2-2 in non-conference home matches under head coach Ryan Hopkins (5th season).
Player Notes
- Djibril Doumbia was named the WAC Goalkeeper of the Year and has won the last two Goalkeeper of the Week awards. He has posted four straight shutouts and the WAC in goals allowed average (0.25), save percentage (.905) and shutout percentage (0.75) in conference play.
- Reid Fisher, André Puente and Terence Okoeguale joined Doumbia on the All-WAC First Team.
- Fisher and Puente were two of the three defenders named to the All-WAC First Team. Combined with Doumbia, the Aztecs won three of the top four defensive honors.
- Fisher was named the WAC Preseason Defender of the Year and Puente was one of 16 defenders in the nation on the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Watch List.
- Okoeguale had eight points in conference play with three goals and two assists. In conference play, he was fourth in the WAC in points per game (1.14) and tied for fifth in goals (3). On the year, he leads the Aztecs with 17 points and is tied for the team lead with six goals.
- Robbie Matei and Austin Brummett were named to All-WAC Second Team.
- Matei scored three goals in conference play and is tied for Okoeguale for the team lead with six overall. Four of his six goals have been game-winners.
- Brummett’s three assists in WAC matches were tied for fourth in the conference. He is also second in the WAC in shot accuracy (53%) and third in shots on goal per game (1.1).
- Matei, Okoeguale and Austin Brummett all have at least five goals. It’s the first time since 2012 that three Aztecs have had at least five goals.
- All three are in the top 10 in the WAC in goals and points.
- Brummett’s 12 points are third 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.
- Cianole Nguepissi was named to the WAC All-Freshman Team. He started every WAC match on defense and helped SDSU post six clean sheets.
- Rommee Jaridly, a Pac-12 honorable mention selection a year ago, is second on the team with four assists. Last year he was second on the team with 13 points (4 goals and 5 assists).
- Three players have started every match for SDSU: Brummett, Fisher and Jaridly.
- Fisher played every minute this season until the closing minutes of the regular season finale vs. Air Force.
- Five other Aztecs average at least 75 minutes per match. Beto Apolinar, Tristan Viviani, Jaridly, Israel Carrillo and Brummett.
- Beto Apolinar, the team captain, is second on the team in minutes played (87 per match).
- SDSU has 10 players in their fourth, fifth or sixth year of college.
Opponent Notebook (San Jose State)
The Spartans are 5-7-7… They went 3-3-3 in the WAC and finished in fifth place… They beat the No. 4 seed Utah Valley 1-0 in Sunday’s first round match despite being outshot 12-10 and only having two shots on goal... They have been outscored 24-1919 but are outshooting their opponents 201-198… Angel Iniguez leads the team in points (23), goals (8) and assists (7)… Goalkeeper Ronin Axelson has started the last four matches and recorded three straight shutouts… Head coach Simon Tobin is in his 11th season at SJSU and has over 350 wins in his career… The Aztecs are 6-10-1 all-time against the Spartans. Prior to this year’s match, that hadn’t played each other in 20 years (2004).
Last Time vs. San Jose State:
The Aztecs beat the Spartans 1-0 on Oct. 20 after Robbie Matei headed in an Austin Brummett corner kick in the 74th minute. SDSU outshot SJSU 15-7 and held them to just one shot in the first half. The Spartans Gilberto Rivera picked up his second yellow card in the 75th minute, forcing the Spartans to play a man down for the final 15 minutes.
Coach Hopkins Take on San Jose State:
“The intensity is always ratcheted up as you enter conference tournament play with everybody’s season on the line. We are excited to see the guys rise to a new level as we compete to bring home the tournament championship.”