SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men’s soccer team hosts Cal State Fullerton Saturday at 7 p.m. The match will be streamed on the Pac-12’s YouTube channel. It is Hispanic Heritage Night and the first 500 fans will receive a SDSU replica keeper kit.
Aztec Tidbits
- This is SDSU’s first home match since September 11 after playing the last three matches on the road.
- The Aztecs are coming off a 2-1 loss at Santa Clara on Sunday.
- SDSU is 12th in the nation with a shot accuracy of 51.9%.
- The Aztecs lead the Pac-12 with 17 goals and are second with 19 assists.
- Since the beginning of the 2024 season, SDSU is 17-3-5 (.780) when scoring first and 18-5-7 (.716) when tied or leading at the half.
- Nine 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 is 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) leads the Pac-12 in goals (5) and points (12).
- Goalkeeper Nic Diana (Grayslake, Ill.) is second in the Pac-12 in saves per match (3.50).
- Freshmen Kian McCusker (Birmingham, England) and Gio Aguirre (San Marcos, Calif.) each have three assists on the year, tied for the most on the team.
- 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).
- Jaxson Hutcheon (Laguna Beach, Calif.) is tied for the team lead with nine shots on goal and leads the team with a 64.3% shot on goal percentage.
- 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 (Cal State Fullerton)
The Titans are 2-3-3 on the year… They are 1-2-1 on the road… They average 15.6 shots per game, but allow 16.9… Fernando Valenzuela leads the team with five goals and 11 points… Goalkeeper Asger Hemmer has a 2.23 goals allowed average… Head coach George Kuntz is in his 12th season at Cal State Fullerton and previously coached at UC Irvine for 19 years. SDSU assistant coach Carlos Aguilar coached under Kuntz at both schools… The Aztecs are 16-17-2 all-time vs. Fullerton and beat them 1-0 at home last year.
Coach Hopkins’ Take
“Fullerton will be a big challenge for us because they can create something out of nothing at any moment and they are electric in transition. It will be a big test for us to see if we can stay focused and stick to our principles.”