July 15, 2013
SAN DIEGO -
2013 SDSU Women's Soccer Schedule
Nine home games, including four under the lights at SDSU Sports Deck, highlight the 2013 San Diego State women's soccer schedule, head coach Mike Friesen announced Monday. The Aztecs enter the upcoming campaign as the defending Mountain West regular-season and tournament champions.
SDSU, which finished last year ranked No. 7 in the final NSCAA poll and recorded the best record in the nation at 21-2-1, will prepare for 2013 with a friendly at Cal State Fullerton on Aug. 16, before officially opening the campaign vs. USC at nearby USD on Aug. 23. Two days later, the Scarlet and Black will play host to Saint Mary's in its home opener at 1 p.m. PT atop the Sports Deck where SDSU went 14-1 a season ago.
A trip to The Wolverine State is next for the Aztecs with dates at Michigan State and Michigan. SDSU will take on the Spartans on Aug. 30, and then make the 62-minute drive to Ann Arbor where UM waits a for a Sept. 1 clash. Similar to the Scarlet and Black, the Wolverines advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2012, finished the year ranked No. 19, and ultimately posted a record of 16-5-3.
Before embarking on a road trip to Los Angeles, San Diego State returns to Montezuma Mesa for a single home match vs. Houston. The Sunday, Sept. 8, get-together is slated for a noon PT start. Then it is on to L.A. the next weekend for tilts vs. a pair of foes SDSU faced last season. First up is UCLA on Sept. 13, which will air live on the Pac-12 Networks at 4:30 p.m. PT. The Bruins handed the Aztecs their only home blemish after defeating SDSU in the Sweet 16 back in November and eventually moved on the NCAA quarterfinals before finishing sixth in the NSCAA poll and turning in a record of 18-3-2. Once they are done in Westwood, the Aztecs will head to Malibu to face a team that advanced to NCAAs last season in Pepperdine on Sept. 15. Nearly 12 months ago, San Diego State beat the Waves, 1-0, on The Mesa at a time when Pepperdine was ranked fifth in the country.
After playing five of the first seven games of the season on the road, the Aztecs will spend three weeks at home starting with a cross-town showdown vs. USD at 7 p.m. PT on Friday, Sept. 20. The meeting will mark the first between the teams since SDSU beat the Toreros in the second round of the NCAA tournament back in 2009, and will be the first to take place on campus since 2006. When USD leaves The Mesa, another West Coast Conference school will arrive in perennial power Portland on Sept. 22. The Pilots advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament a year ago and were ranked No. 24 at season's end. San Diego State is looking to beat Portland for the third consecutive season after claiming a 1-0 win in San Diego in 2011, and winning on the Pilots' turf, 3-2, in 2012.
The Aztecs will begin their MW title defense on Sept. 27, when Fresno State visits for a 7 p.m. PT game. Then league newcomer San Jose State will follow in the Bulldogs' footsteps on Sept. 29, for a noon PT match. The meeting with the Spartans will be the first since 2010, and San Diego State will carry a six-game series winning streak into the match.
Another first-time opponent will end the Aztecs' season-long five-game homestand on Oct. 4, when Colorado State steps onto the Sports Deck pitch at 7 p.m. PT. While not new to the conference, the Rams are competing in the sport of women's soccer for the first time ever.
A trip to Air Force (Oct. 11) and Wyoming (Oct. 13) will mark the first MW road trip for the Aztecs, which will be a common theme the final four weeks of the regular season. After its trip to the front range, San Diego State will play host to UNLV on Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. PT and Nevada on Senior Day (Oct. 20) at noon PT before finishing with three games on the road.
SDSU begins its toughest conference stretch at Boise State on Oct. 25, and then will travel to Logan, Utah, to face Utah State on Oct. 27. The Aggies, another first-time Mountain West member, earned an NCAA berth in 2012, and posted an overall record of 13-3-6. The finale on Nov. 1, will be a rematch of the 2012 MW championship game when the Aztecs face New Mexico in Albuquerque. The match will serve as a preview of what is to come the following week when SDSU heads back to the Land of Enchantment for the MW tournament.