SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men’s soccer team hosts Life Pacific Thursday evening at 7 p.m. for their home opener. Admission is free to all matches on the SDSU Sports Deck.
Aztec Tidbits
- San Diego State began the season with two matches on the East Coast. They fell at No. 17 Virginia 2-0 in their season opener Thursday. and then bounced back to win at Howard 2-0 on Sunday.
- The Aztecs’ goals came from Christian Engmann and Juan Zepeda with assists coming from Lleyton Imparato, Cianole Nguepissi and Josh Lucas.
- The Aztecs won the WAC regular season championship last year, the program’s first conference championship in school history. SDSU went undefeated (7-0-1) in the WAC in conference play and shut out their opponents in six of their eight WAC matches.
- SDSU was picked to finish first in the WAC in the preseason coaches poll.
- 2024 was the Aztecs’ first year in the WAC after 19 years in the Pac-12. The Aztecs previously played in the WAC from 1996-98.
- SDSU’s 10 wins in 2024 were their most since 2011.
- Hopkins was named the WAC Coach of the Year last season.
- The Aztecs had a conference-high three players named to the preseason All-WAC Team, as chosen by the league’s coaches. Cianole Nguepissi was named the Preseason Defender of the Year and Terence Okoeguale and Tristan Viviani made the preseason All-WAC Team.
- SDSU had two players named a “Midfielder to Watch” by the United Soccer Coaches: Okoeguale and Carson Ballagh, a transfer from Oakland University.
- The Aztecs are 24-11-5 (.688) at home since the beginning of the 2021 season.
- SDSU has had a winning record in non-conference play last year in 10 of their last 11 seasons.
- San Diego State has lost just five non-conference matches over their last 25 chances (15-5-5, .700) and is 18-2-2 (.863) in non-conference home matches under head coach Ryan Hopkins (6th season).
- Six starters return from last year’s championship team (Beto Apolinar, Israel Carrillo, Rommee Jaridly, Nguepissi, Okoeguale and Viviani).
- According to Top Drawer Soccer, the Aztecs have the 26th best incoming class in 2025 and the sixth best on the West Coast.
- SDSU has 12 newcomers (5 freshmen and 7 transfers). Five of their seven transfers were all-conference honorees at their previous school.
- SDSU beat UC San Diego 2-1 and played UC Santa Barbara to a 1-1 draw in preseason play. The Gauchos were picked to win the Big West and are receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason poll.
- SDSU didn’t trail in any of their WAC matches last year, a span of 720 minutes.
- The Aztecs have been nationally ranked at one point in three of the last four seasons.|
- In 2024 conference play, the Aztecs led the WAC in goals allowed average (0.25) and shutout percentage (0.75).
- Since the beginning of the 2024 season, SDSU is 10-1-2 when scoring first and 10-1-3 when tied or leading at the half.
- The Aztecs are 5-1-1 in their last seven road matches.
- Last year 13 of the Aztecs’ 18 matches were a draw or decided by one goal (8-2-3).
- SDSU ended last season winning seven of their last eight matches that were decided by one goal.
- Last year three Aztecs had at least five goals (Robbie Matei, Okoeguale and Austin Brummett). It was the first time since 2012 that three Aztecs had at least five goals.
- Defender Reid Fisher was selected by Toronto FC with the 23rd overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft in December. He became the third Aztec to be drafted in the last three years, and second in the first round, joining CJ Fodrey (13th overall) and Blake Bowen (59th) who were both selected in the 2022 SuperDraft.
Player Notes
- Cianole Nguepissi (Birmingham, England) was named the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Last year he made the WAC All-Freshman Team after starting every WAC match and helping SDSU post six clean sheets in their eight conference matches.
- Terence Okoeguale (Cologne, Germany) was named a “Midfielder to Watch” by the United Soccer Coaches and to the Preseason All-WAC Team. Last season he led the Aztecs with 17 points (6 goals & 5 assists) and was named to the All-WAC First Team and to the United Soccer Coaches Far West All-Region Second-Team. His six goals and five assists both tied for the team lead, and he also led the team in shot on goal percentage (58.3%, 14-for-24).
- Tristan Viviani (Redwood City, Calif.) was also named to the Preseason All-WAC Team. He is a three-year starter who has displayed his versatility throughout his tenure on The Mesa by playing all over the pitch. He has appeared in 46 matches with 39 starts in his career and last year played 1,495 minutes, the third most on the team, and played a full 90 minutes in all but four matches.
- Carson Ballagh (Lake Orion, Mich.) joined Okoeguale on the United Soccer Coaches “Midfielder to Watch” List. Last season as a sophomore at Oakland University he was named to the All-Horizon First Team and United Soccer Coaches All-North Region Third-Team after dishing out a league-high five assists in conference play. Ballagh helped Oakland win the Horizon League regular championship both years he was there and was named to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team on both occasions.
- 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.
- Rommee Jaridly (Chino Hills, Calif.) and Beto Apolinar (Los Angeles) are both three-year starters in their fifth year with the program. They each had four assists last year, which tied for third on the team. Jaridly is the only returner who started every match for the Aztecs last season.
- Apolinar and starting goalkeeper Eddy Vargas (Yakima, Wash.) are the 2025 team captains. It’s the third year Apolinar has been selected as a captain.
- Apolinar and Christian Engmann (Seattle, Wash.) helped lead Ballard FC to the USL 2 Championship match over the summer. Engmann was an All-WCC honoree while at Saint Mary’s (2020-22) but played just five matches over the previous two seasons while dealing with injuries. In 2025, he has played every minute and scored the game-winning goal at Howard.
- Transfers Baptiste Boit (Oral Roberts), Juan Zepeda (Temple) and Lleyton Imparato (Memphis) were all all-conference honorees at their previous school. Imparato (Tampa Bay, Fla.) was named the 2024 AAC Co-Midfielder of the Year.
- Viviani, Jaridly and Carrillo are the only returners who averaged at least 75 minutes per match last year.
- SDSU has 12 seniors and seven of them are in their fifth, sixth (Engmann) or seventh (Vargas) year.
Opponent Notebook (Life Pacific)
Life Pacific is an NAIA school that plays in the GSAC (Great Southwest Athletic Conference) and is located in San Dimas, Calif… They went 1-16-1 last year… They lost their season opener 4-0 to Nobel University… They are coached by Joey DeSantis (3rd season)… SDSU has played Life Pacific once before, beating them 12-0 in 2023.