SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men’s soccer team will host Santa Clara (1-1-2) Friday at 7 p.m. on the SDSU Sports Deck and then play at UC Riverside (0-2-1) Monday evening at 7 p.m.
Aztec Tidbits
- San Diego State is coming off a 2-1 loss to San Diego Monday at Snapdragon Stadium.
- 3,068 fans were in attendance, the third largest for a single game in program history.
- SDSU has lost just six non-conference matches over their last 27 chances (16-6-5, .685) and is 19-3-2 (.833) in non-conference home matches under Ryan Hopkins (6th season).
- The Aztecs are 25-12-5 (.654) at home since the beginning of the 2021 season.
- SDSU is averaging 8.50 corner kicks per match, the fifth most in the nation.
- SDSU has had a winning record in non-conference play last year in 10 of their last 11 seasons.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- SDSU’s 10 wins in 2024 were their most since 2011.
- Head coach Ryan Hopkins was named the WAC Coach of the Year last season.
- Six starters return from last year’s championship team (Beto Apolinar, Israel Carrillo Pérez, Rommee Jaridly, Nguepissi, Okoeguale and Viviani).
- 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 11-1-2 when scoring first and 11-1-3 when tied or leading at the half.
- The Aztecs are 5-1-1 in their last seven road matches.
- 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.
- 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
- Christian Engmann (Seattle, Wash.) leads the team in minutes (86/match) and has scored the game-winning goal in both of SDSU’s wins. 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.
- Israel Carrillo Pérez (San Jose, Calif.) scored his first two career goals last Thursday vs. Life Pacific.
- Lleyton Imparato (Tampa Bay, Fla.) is tied for the team lead with two assists, with both coming off free kicks.
- Carson Ballagh (Lake Orion, Mich.) also has two assists. He was 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.
- Terence Okoeguale (Cologne, Germany) joined Ballagh on the “Midfielder to Watch” list and was on 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).
- Dylan Presto (Los Angeles, Calif.) recorded his first career point Monday vs. San Diego (26th career match), sending a header into the box that Rommee Jaridly finished.
- 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.
- 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. Entering the year, 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.
- 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 Engmann helped lead Ballard FC to the USL 2 Championship match over the summer.
- Transfers Baptiste Boit (Oral Roberts), Stephan Moreira (SIU Edwardsville), Juan Zepeda (Temple) and Imparato (Memphis) were all-conference honorees at their previous school. Imparato (Tampa Bay, Fla.) was named the 2024 AAC Co-Midfielder of the Year and Moreira was the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
- Viviani, Jaridly and Carrillo Pérez 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 (Santa Clara)
The Broncos are 1-1-2 on the year… They are coming off a 3-0 win at Sacramento State… They went 5-8-3 last year and 2-4-2 in the WCC… They return 19 players from last year, including All-WCC performers Naji Elder and Will Wiersdorf… Goalkeeper Jackson Ozburn is the reigning WCC Defensive Player of the Week… Head coach Cam Rast (24th season) has over 200 career wins… Santa Clara leads the all-time series 13-7-3. This is the first meeting between the programs since 2019, a 1-1 draw at Santa Clara.
Opponent Notebook (UC Riverside)
The Highlanders are 0-2-1 on the season… They are coming off a 2-2 draw vs. Air Force Monday… Prior to that they had a pair of 2-0 losses at Michigan State and Michigan… They play at UNLV Friday evening… Head coach Tim Cupello (13th season) has led UCR to two NCAA tournament appearances… The Aztecs are 9-3-2 all-time against UC Riverside and beat them 5-2 at home in last year’s season opener.