SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men’s soccer team plays at Santa Clara Sunday at 7:30 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
Aztec Tidbits
- This is the last of three straight road matches for the Aztecs after having five of their first six matches at home.
- SDSU lost at No. 25 UC Santa Barbara 2-0 on Thursday. Both the Aztecs and Broncos’ last two opponents were ranked.
- The Aztecs played a season-high 24 players at UC Santa Barbara
- SDSU is top 25 in the nation in four offensive statistical categories (assists, shot accuracy, points and goals).
- The Aztecs are 19th in the nation with a shot accuracy of 51.5%.
- SDSU is 8-4-3 in their last 15 road matches.
- Since the beginning of the 2024 season, SDSU is 17-2-5 (.813) when scoring first and 18-4-7 (.741) when tied or leading at the half.
- SDSU has scored a goal in the 85th minute or later in three of their last five matches.
- Eight different Aztecs have scored and four players have at least two goals.
- The Aztecs are 29-18-8 at home since the beginning of the 2021 season.
- SDSU lost just 13 non-conference matches over their last 41 chances (20-13-8) and are 21-7-5 (.712) in non-conference home matches under Ryan Hopkins (7th season), which includes a 21-6-2 (.759) mark on the SDSU Sports Deck.
- SDSU has had a winning record in non-conference play in 10 of the past 12 seasons.
- The Aztecs have a program record 20 newcomers in 2026 (12 transfers and eight freshmen).
- 18 different Aztecs have started and 14 of them were making their first ever start for SDSU.
- Due to graduation, transfers and injuries, the Aztecs return just 17.8% of their minutes played from last season’s team. This is the fifth fewest in the nation based on a poll conducted amongst DI men’s soccer sports information directors.
- SDSU’s 2026 roster has zero players who scored a goal for SDSU last season and just two players who recorded an assist (Carson Ballagh and Dylan Presto).
- SDSU returns to the Pac-12 in 2026, the league they played in from 2005-2023, after spending the last two years in the WAC as an affiliate member.
- The Pac-12 and The Big West jointly announced a collaborative men’s soccer partnership designed to strengthen and sustain Division I men’s soccer opportunities across the western United States. As part of this strategic partnership, California Baptist, Cal Poly, UC Riverside, and UC San Diego will compete as affiliate members in Pac-12 men’s soccer beginning with the 2026 season.
- The Aztecs were picked to finish third in the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll.
- SDSU lost just two regular season matches in the WAC in their two years (10-2-3) and won the 2024 regular season championship.
Player Notes
- Nik Orth (Cologne, Germany) has scored five goals in the last six matches.
- Orth leads the Pac-12 in goals (5) and points (11).
- Freshmen Kian McCusker (Birmingham, England) and Gio Aguirre (San Marcos, Calif.) each have three assists on the year, tied for the most in the Pac-12.
- Aguirre scored both of SDSU’s goals vs. Navy Aug. 23 to become the first Aztec freshman to score two goals in a match since 2022 (CJ Fodrey).
- Five Aztec field players average at least 70 minutes per match: Mattia Boldrini, Luke Fischer, Avery Huggins, Carson Ballagh and Jonah Kawamura.
- Ballagh, Kawamura and Oscar Emilio Trujillo Lizárraga were named to the Pac-12 Preseason Impact List. That trio are the team captains this year.
- Ballagh (Lake Orion, Mich.) tied for the team lead with four assists last year. He had five the previous season while at Oakland University.
- Kawamura (Honolulu, Hawai’i) came to The Mesa last year but missed the entire season with an injury. He was a three-year starter and captain at UC San Diego and led the Tritons in minutes twice.
- Trujillo Lizárraga is a San Diego native who played at West Virginia last year and at UC Riverside in 2024. He helped the Mountaineers make the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season and was named to the Big West All-Freshman Team the year prior. He was named a “Player to Watch” in the Pac-12 by Top Drawer Soccer.
- Mattia Boldrini (Florence, Italy) was named to the NEC Conference Top 11 Rookie of the Year Team as a freshman at Le Moyne College last season. He scored the game-winner in SDSU’s preseason friendly vs. Point Loma last Saturday.
- Cedric Ngounou (Mississauga, Ontario) was named a Canadian “Player to Watch” by Canada’s Rising Ballers. He won League 1 Defender of the Year while playing for Borough FC in the Ontario Premier League last season.
- Yahir Ocampo Navarro was named a United Soccer Coaches DII First Team All-American and the GNAC Player of the Year while at Western Oregon last year. He tallied 53 points (18 goals and 17 assists) in three years at WOU.
- Trevor Wilson (Kirkland Wash.) and Dylan Presto (Los Angeles) are the only Aztecs who have been in the program three or more years.
Opponent Notebook (Santa Clara)
The Broncos are 2-5-0 on the year… They won their first two games, but have since lost their last five while being shutout three times… Goalkeeper Jacskon Ozburn is 24th in the nation with 4.67 saves per game… Josmar Guandique is their only player with more than one goal… Head coach Cameron Rast has led SCU to eight NCAA tournaments… The Aztecs are 7-14-3 all-time vs. Santa Clara… The Broncos beat SDSU 2-0 last year.