Oct. 14, 2015
Match Week Preview
California (5-3-2, 0-1-2 Pac-12) at San Diego State (5-4-2, 0-3-0 Pac-12)
Friday, October 16 | 4 p.m. PT | SDSU Sports Deck | San Diego, Calif.
Stanford (9-1-1, 2-0-1 Pac-12) at San Diego State (5-4-2, 0-3-0 Pac-12)
Sunday, October 18 | 11:30 a.m. PT | SDSU Sports Deck | San Diego, Calif.
Storylines
- The Aztecs return to San Diego this weekend to make their 2015 Pac-12 debut on Montezuma Mesa with contests against California and No. 3 Stanford. San Diego State welcomes the Golden Bears on Fri., Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. and the Cardinal on Sun., Oct. 18 at 11:30 a.m.
- San Diego State couldn't hold off perennial Pac-12 powerhouse UCLA in conference action Monday night, falling to the Bruins, 4-0, in Los Angeles. Starting keeper Adam Allmaras made six saves against UCLA, a season-high, and held UCLA scoreless for 65 minutes.
- The Aztecs began their conference slate with a pair of 1-0 losses to No. 15 Washington and Oregon State. The last time San Diego State opened Pac-12 play by allowing two goals was in 2011, when the Aztecs opened the conference season with 1-0 and 2-1 wins over Stanford and California.
- For just the sixth time in the program's 48-year history, San Diego State allowed eight-or-fewer goals in its first 10 matches of the season (1979 - 7; 1982 - 4; 1987 - 8; 1988 - 6; 2005 - 5). The Aztecs have allowed more than one goal in only two matches.
- San Diego State has one of the most distributed offenses in the conference. Nine different Aztecs have scored goals, the second-most behind California (10) among Pac-12 teams.
- Redshirt senior Rene Reyes has been the Aztecs' most reliable scoring threat this season. His four tallies in a season's first three matches are the most for an Aztec since 1999 and he currently ranks tied for fifth in the Pac-12 with four goals. Personally, his four goals are a career high, which he surpassed three matches into the season, and his two-goal outing against San Diego Christian was the first of his career.
- San Diego State head coach Lev Kirshner announced the hire of two assistant coaches, both of whom possess a diverse set of experiences at the youth, collegiate, professional and international levels. Jeffrey "Ziggy" Korytoski and Tony Vigil join Kirshner's staff for his 16th season at the helm of the Aztecs' program in 2015. Korytoski will be in charge of recruiting, while Vigil will handle all scouting.
- As a member of Guam's Men's National Team, redshirt-junior Travis Nicklaw and Matao were in Qatar and Turkmenistan last week for a 2018 World Cup Qualifying match against Turkmenistan on Oct. 13. The San Diego native has helped Matao to a 2-2-1 in round two of World Cup Qualifying with three matches remaining.
- Also competing internationally, redshirt-freshman Nedin Tucakovic participated in a camp for the Bosnia-Herzegovina U-21 Men's National Team over the summer, which is preparing for the 2017 UEFA Under-21 Championship. Former Aztec Joe Corona was named to Jurgen Klinsmann's 23-man roster for a pair of friendlies against Peru and Brazil ahead of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup play-off match.
- Kirshner matches California head coach Kevin Grimes as the longest tenured head coach in Pac-12 men's soccer. Under his tutelage, San Diego State maintains a 74-62-18 record out of conference play.
Opponent Notebook
California
The Golden Bears kicked off the season with a 5-1 mark, rising to as high as No. 20 nationally, but have struggled as of late, going 0-2-2 in their most recent four matches. Despite that, Cal has allowed three goals in as many Pac-12 games, playing both its matches last weekend against Oregon State and No. 15 Washington to respective 2-2 and 0-0 draws. Jose Carrera-Garcia leads the team with 12 points (3g, 6a), just ahead of Christian Thierjung's 11 points (4g, 3a). Cal's starting goalkeeper is Alex Mangels, who, starting every match this season, boasts a 1.11 goals against average, a .738 save percentage and a 5-2-2 mark. Kevin Grimes, a five-time conference Coach of the Year, is in his 16th season as the Golden Bears' head coach.
Stanford
After opening the season with a 1-0 loss to UCSB, No. 3 Stanford has morphed into one of the top defensive teams in the country, maintaining the third-lowest goals against average (0.43) and the fifth-highest save percentage (0.64). Starting keeper Andrew Epstein is a major cause of that, producing a 0.815 save percentage and has had a hand in all seven of Stanford's clean sheets. The Cardinal is also finding success on the other side of the ball, with 12 players recording at least one point and two players scoring at least four goals. Head Coach Jeremy Gunn, the reigning Pac-12 and NSCAA West Region Coach of the Year, is in his third season at the helm of Stanford's program.