Nov. 1, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
Boise State-San Diego State Final Box
San Diego State all-conference midfielder Victoria Barba scored twice to lift third-seeded San Diego State to a 2-0 victory over sixth-seeded Boise State in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Mountain West Women's Soccer Championship on Tuesday at SDSU Sports Deck. The Aztecs improved to 9-7-3, while the Broncos finished their season at 6-11-4.
"It was a good win for us tonight to get into the semifinals," head coach Mike Friesen said. "I thought it was awesome to see Victoria get both goals and put ourselves in a position to get some people off the field, rest our legs a little bit and get prepared for Thursday. We're looking forward to a great battle against San José State and see if we can get a chance to put ourselves in another final."
SDSU's Angela Mitchell gave the Aztecs their first opportunity to score when she found herself along the right flank looking to beat her defender. In doing so, the junior was taken down in the box and San Diego State was awarded a penalty kick, which Barba took and was denied by Janelle Flores.
As big as the stop was for Flores, the rebound was even bigger for the Aztecs as Barba took the ricochet and put away her shot from point-blank range to log her fifth goal in her last five games.
The first half ended with San Diego State ahead, 1-0, and it kept its lead until adding to it in the 66th minute. Following a Boise State foul, Barba lined up a free kick directly in front of the net, but 36 yards away. The senior took it from there and fired a low shot that went through Flores' legs to add to her goal total.
SDSU maintained its lead into the late stages of the game, which allowed Friesen to give some of his starters some rest heading into Thursday's semifinal contest.
Each team finished with nine shots apiece, but the Aztecs held a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal. The Broncos, meanwhile, had one more corner kick than SDSU (3-2).
Individually, Barba, who now has seven goals on the year, attempted a team-high three shots. Milan Moses and Xochi Hunter each had two. Gabby English chipped in five saves to help her notch her seventh shutout of 2016.
San Diego State will now move on in the bracket to face second-seeded San Jose State in the semifinal round on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT atop SDSU Sports Deck. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for youth and students with a current ID. The game will stream live on the Mountain West Network and GoAztecs.com.