Aug. 31, 2012
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SAN DIEGO -- The No. 25 San Diego State women's soccer team, playing their first game under the lights at the SDSU Sports Deck, used a solid team performance to defeat No. 5/13 Pepperdine, 1-0, on Friday evening. With the win, the Aztecs improve to 5-0 and notch their fifth consecutive shutout victory for the first time since the 2004 season. The Waves meanwhile, drop to 3-1 on the year.
"One of the things that was exciting about tonight's win was we played very well," head coach Mike Friesen said. "I felt like we were very dominant in the possession and had seven or eight very good chances. Pepperdine is a good team and for us to be that dominant on a night like tonight is just really rewarding."
SDSU recorded its second win over a top-5 ranked opponent during head coach Mike Friesen's tenure on Montezuma Mesa. Last Aug., the Aztecs earned a 1-0 victory against No. 4 Portland at the SDSU Sports Deck. San Diego State now improves to 2-1 in their last three games vs. nationally ranked squads.
The Aztecs controlled the tempo for the majority of the contest and it started with senior Megan Jurado using her quickness to cross a ball to Haley Locker at the 4:09 mark. The sophomore had a great opportunity to give the SDSU an early lead, but watched her shot go just high. Less than four minutes later, sophomore Hannah Keane appeared to have another good look for the Aztecs as she took a pass from Locker and nearly connected. Waves' goalkeeper Roxanne Barker notched the save though and kept the game knotted at zero.
The next scoring opportunity for SDSU came in the 21st minute as Locker created space for herself and launched a rocket toward goal. The attempt looked good, but Barker stepped in front of it to tally another save. The Aztecs notched four more shots before the end of the first half, while Pepperdine attempted just one to give SDSU a 9-1 advantage in shots at the half.
The Aztecs continued to fire on all cylinders in the second half and it wasted little time. Just two minutes in, sophomore Kelsey Booth crossed a ball to Locker and she nearly connected on a header that went wide. The Aztecs came even closer on their next attempt as Jurado had a great chance, but also had it go wide.
SDSU found what it had been looking for all game in the 58th minute as Jurado took a shot from 15 yards out in traffic and buried it in the upper corner off an assist from Keane. The goal would ultimately be the game-winner and Jurado's second on the season.
The Waves kept fighting down the stretch, but the Aztecs' defense tightened up to protect the shutout. The unit held Pepperdine to just three shots for the game, including one on goal. In comparison, the Aztecs had 16 shots and five on goal and won the possession battle by a 57-42 margin. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Boaz notched one save in her 90 minutes in net en route to tallying her fifth consecutive shutout of the season.
San Diego State returns to action a week from today when it travels to the Minnesota Gold Classic. The Aztecs will play Minnesota on Friday, Sept. 7 and then face off with Iowa State on Sunday, Sept. 9. Both contests will be held at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.