Aug. 18, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Women's Soccer Weekly Release in PDF Format
GAME WEEK RESET
FRESNO STATE (0-0-0) at SAN DIEGO STATE (0-0-0)
Friday, Aug. 21 | 4 p.m. PT | SDSU Sports Deck
CS NORTHRIDGE (0-0-0) at SAN DIEGO STATE (0-0-0)
Sunday, Aug. 23 | 1 p.m. PT | SDSU Sports Deck
OPENING WEEK STORY LINES
- San Diego State begins its 21st season of soccer at the Division I level on Friday.
- Mike Friesen is beginning his third season at the helm of the program.
- The Scarlet and Black are 0-1-1 in season-opening matches under Friesen and 2-0-0 in home season openers.
- SDSU is unbeaten in three of the last four season openers (2-1-1).
- The Aztecs are opening the year at home for the first time since 2003. That season, SDSU dropped a narrow 1-0 decision to Oregon State.
- The Aug. 21 start date is the earliest start to a season in school history. Prior to the Fresno State match, the earliest San Diego State had ever opened a season was last year when the Aztecs lost in overtime at CS Northridge, 2-1, on Aug. 22.
- SDSU will play its first two games at home before playing a season-high six straight road games, which starts at San Jose State on Aug. 28 and ends at UC Riverside on Sept. 13.
OPPOSITION NOTEBOOK
Fresno State
Like the Aztecs, the Bulldogs are playing their first game of 2009 on Friday ... Fresno State was picked to finish third in the preseason WAC poll ... Goalkeeper Kaitlyn Revel was named the league's preseason defensive player of the year ... Fresno State, which advanced to last year's NCAA Tournament after winning the WAC Tournament, returns 16 letterwinners, including all-WAC players Revel, Kendall Van Dine and Molly Nizzoli ... The Bulldogs finished 2008 with a mark of 11-9-2 (7-0-0 WAC) ... During their exhibition season, the Bulldogs lost to the California Storm of the Women's Premier Soccer League, 3-0, and bounced back to beat Fresno Pacific, 3-0, on Monday.
CS Northridge
While San Diego State is taking on Fresno State on Friday, CS Northridge will be across town at USD for its season-opening contest at 7 p.m. PT ... In the Big West Conference preseason poll, the Matadors were picked to finish in fifth place after completing a 2008 Big West season with a record of 3-4-1 ... CS Northridge finished the 2008 campaign with an overall record of 8-9-2 ... CSUN's top three returners include Katie Fox and Brielle Slepicoff, who each had five points last year, and goalkeeper Leah Elliot.
AZTECS vs. THE OPPOSITION
Fresno State
San Diego State is 6-2 all-time vs. the Bulldogs ... The Aztecs are facing their old WAC foes for the first time since Oct. 27, 2000, which resulted in a 4-2 loss for SDSU in Fresno ... Despite the loss, San Diego State has won two of the last three meetings ... Four of the Aztecs' six victories have been shutouts ... SDSU is 4-0 all-time vs. Fresno State at home ... The last time these two teams got together in San Diego was back on Oct. 11, 1998 (W, 4-0).
CS Northridge
SDSU lost in two overtimes last year at CS Northridge, 2-1, in the Aztecs' season opener ... With the loss, San Diego State still owns a 4-2 series advantage ... Both of SDSU's two losses have come in the two most recent matchups ... The Aztecs are 3-1 vs. CSUN in games played in America's Finest City ... With the exception of the first-ever game in the series, a 5-0 SDSU decision, the last five games have been decided by one goal.
SDSU PICKED TO FINISH IN FOURTH PLACE IN MWC
San Diego State was picked to finish in fourth place in the Mountain West Conference in a vote by the league's coaches, the MWC announced on Aug. 10. The Aztecs earned 30 points and were picked to finish behind Brigham Young (40 points; 7 first-place votes), TCU (39 points; 1 first-place vote) and Utah (39 points). UNLV found itself behind SDSU in fifth place (28 points) as did New Mexico (6th; 18 points), Wyoming (7th; 14 points) and Air Force (8th; 7 points).
SENIOR QUARTET AND WALKER TO LEAD SDSU IN 2009
The senior quartet of Millie Allen, Allie Crowson, Jessica Gordon and Heather Vandevanter, along with junior Cat Walker, make up SDSU's leadership group and are set to lead in 2009. Of the fivesome, Allen (2007 second team), Gordon (2008 second team) and Walker (2008 first team) have earned all-MWC honors at some point in their careers. Crowson and Vandevanter, meanwhile, have been solid contributors during their time on Montezuma Mesa. Out of a possible 59 games, Crowson has played in 52 (39 starts), while Vandevanter has seen action in 58 (56 starts).