Nov. 4, 2015
Match Week Preview
Washington (7-4-5, 3-2-2 Pac-12) at San Diego State (7-7-2, 1-6-0 Pac-12)
Friday, November 6 | 7 p.m. PT | SDSU Sports Deck | San Diego, Calif.
Oregon State (7-7-1, 2-4-1 Pac-12) at San Diego State (7-7-2, 1-6-0 Pac-12)
Sunday, November 8 | 12 p.m. PT | SDSU Sports Deck | San Diego, Calif.
Storylines
- San Diego State returns to Pac-12 action with a pair of home contests on Fri., Nov. 6 and Sun., Nov. 8 against Washington and Oregon State respectively. The match against the Huskies, which will honor San Diego youth soccer players, kicks off at 7 p.m. PT, and the Beavers' match is slated for noon. Admission to all regular season soccer matches at SDSU Sports Deck is free.
- San Diego State will welcome San Diego County youth soccer players for the team's Youth Soccer Night at the Aztecs' match against Washington. The festivities will begin at 6 p.m. with a 30-minute tour of the San Diego State athletic facilities. In addition, the first 500 patrons in attendance will receive thundersticks. Following the match, fans can enjoy a free team poster and autograph session at the field. For more information or to register for the facilities tour, please contact Ziggy Korytoski at jkorytoski@mail.sdsu.edu.
- The Aztecs used their bye week from Pac-12 play to venture to Wright State for a Halloween contest against the Raiders and departed with a 3-0 victory. The home loss was Wright State's worst loss in more than three years. Aleks Berkolds headed in SDSU's eventual match-winner on its first shot on the match 26 minutes in. Rene Reyes and Casey Macias added second half markers to seal the match. Adam Allmaras stopped 10 shots, one shy of his career high, for the shutout.
- Rene Reyes had led a balanced San Diego State attack in his final year of eligibility. The Oslo, Norway native is first on the team with six goals and three assists for 15 points, ranked seventh in the Pac-12. He scored four goals in the season's first three matches, accomplishing the feat for the first time since 1999, and his two-goal outing against San Diego Christian was the first of his career.
- Since transferring from Maryland this summer, sophomore Jeroen Meefout has been an invaluable offensive threat for the Aztecs. Meefout, a Houten, Netherlands native ranks second on the team with 11 points (four goals, three assists), garnering more than half of his points since the start of Pac-12 play.
- Adam Allmaras has had a career year for San Diego State between the pipes. With three matches to go, the San Diego native has surpassed his career high with five clean sheets this season, ranking third in the Pac-12.
- San Diego State has one of the most distributed offenses in the conference. Eleven different Aztecs have scored goals, tied with California among Pac-12 teams.
- The Aztecs' double overtime heartbreaker at California on Oct. 23 was chock-full of exciting moments, but none were more thrilling for Aztec fans than Travis Nicklaw's match-tying goal in the 85th minute. The redshirt junior blasted a missile from 35 yards out, sending the ball curling into the upper right corner of the net. The rocket was first on the Pac-12 Network's #12Best Moments of the Week for Oct. 19-25.
- On Oct. 16 and 18, San Diego State out-shot No. 3 Stanford - the first time the Aztecs out-shot both Stanford and an opponent ranked in the top three since 2013 - and California, continuing a visible trait of its attack this season. The team has out-shot 10 of its 16 opponents, producing a 6-2-2 mark when tallying more chances than its opponent.
- As a member of Guam's Men's National Team, redshirt-junior Travis Nicklaw has helped Matao to a 2-2-1 in round two of World Cup Qualifying with three matches remaining. Despite missing five matches due to his international commitments, Nicklaw is fourth on the Aztecs with two goals and six points.
- 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).
- San Diego State head coach Lev 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 75-62-18 record out of conference play.
Opponent Notebook
Washington
The Huskies executed a thrilling 2-1 victory over No. 4 Stanford on Monday, handing the Cardinal their first loss since the season opener. Ryan Herman has been a brick wall between the pipes, posting a league-best 0.61 goals against average, the 13th lowest mark in the nation. Despite being the lowest scoring team in the conference, 11 different Huskies have at least a point. Jamie Clark is in his fifth year at the helm of Washington's program.
Oregon State
Oregon State, which is winless in San Diego since 2012, started its conference campaign 2-0 but has not won since its strong start. This year, the Beavers have received major contributions from their sophomore class this season, with forwards Timmy Mueller and Jordan Jones combining to score 12 of Oregon State's 15 goals. Head coach Steve Simmons is in his seventh season, leading the Beavers to the NCAA Tournament last season.