Nov. 3, 2017
SAN DIEGO -
Game Week Preview
(4) New Mexico (12-7-2; 7-4 MW) vs. (2) San Diego State (11-7-2; 7-2-2 MW)
Mountain West Championship Final
Saturday, Nov. 4 | 7 p.m. PT | Mountain West Network | Peter Johann Memorial Field | Las Vegas, Nev.
Storylines
- Second-seeded San Diego State will face fourth-seeded New Mexico on Saturday with the 2017 Mountain West title on the line. The championship game is set for 7 p.m. PT at UNLV's Peter Johann Memorial Field and will stream live on the Mountain West Network.
- SDSU, which received a quarterfinal bye after finishing in the top two in the league standings, earned a spot in the title game after defeating third-seeded Boise State, 1-0, on Thursday. Senior forward Aliyah Utush provided the winner in the 48th minute and the Aztec defense blanked the Broncos for the second time this season.
- Utush's goal was her sixth of the season and it gave her 19 points on the year, two behind SDSU-leader Mia Root (9 goals, 3 assists). Utush enters the final ranked eighth in school history with 21 career goals, fourth with 22 career assists and sixth with 64 career points.
- The San Diego State defense has been outstanding, allowing only nine goals since the start of the conference season back on Sept. 22, which spans 12 games. Outside of giving up five goals to No. 9 UCLA in the season opener, the Aztecs have only allowed 18 goals in 19 games (0.95 gpg). Only six teams have scored more than one goal in a game vs. SDSU this year.
- San Diego State shut down a Boise State offense that had been clicking on all cylinders. Entering the tilt with the Aztecs, the Broncos had scored multiple goals in seven straight games, averaging 3.0 goals over that span. Boise State finished the campaign by scoring 28 goals against Mountain West foes. Against the Aztecs, the Broncos scored zero.
- The SDSU win on Thursday marked its fifth straight, which represents its longest winning streak since 2015, when it won 11 in a row (Sept. 27-Nov. 5). San Diego State also ran its MW Championship unbeaten streak to 12 games (9-0-3).
- The month of November has been good for San Diego State in recent years. Since the start of the 2012 campaign, the Aztecs are 12-3-3 in the 11th month of the calendar year. The three losses were to No. 5 UCLA in 2012, at No. 2 UCLA in 2013, and at No. 20 California in 2014, which ended in a 3-2 double-overtime defeat.
- The Aztecs will be playing in their conference-record six straight championship game, which broke the old mark previously held by Brigham Young from 1999-2003. The MW title-game appearance is also the ninth for San Diego State and ties BYU for the most in legaue history. New Mexico and Utah are tied for third with five championship-game berths.
- Under head coach Mike Friesen, who is the all-time leader in wins at SDSU, the Aztecs are 12-4-3 at the Mountain West Championship with titles coming in 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
- In 19 Mountain West Championships, the Aztecs are 19-11-4, with four titles to their credit. SDSU has now made the final nine times (1999, 2004, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017).
- The meeting with New Mexico will be the second time the schools have faced off with the MW title on the line. In 2012, the Aztecs downed the Lobos, 2-0, at SDSU Sports Deck for what would be the first of three consecutive tournament crowns.
- San Diego State will face a New Mexico team it faced just eight days prior in Albuquerque. The game was a back-and-forth affair, beginning with Rachel Speros' goal 56 seconds into the contest. UNM scored three of the next four goals, with the last coming in the 65th minute. Angela Mitchell supplied the SDSU goal in the 31st minute during the Lobo run. The Aztecs were later the beneficiary of a own goal after an aggressive attempt to score by SDSU in the 88th minute. Then in double overtime, Root scored with four seconds left to secure the 4-3 decision.
- The Aztecs are 12-7-7 all-time vs. New Mexico and have won five of the last seven meetings. At neutral sites, SDSU is 2-0-2. This is the first neutral-site game between the schools since a 2007 game in Provo, Utah. That contest ended in a 0-0 draw and was played at BYU due to fires in the San Diego area.
- SDSU is 3-0-1 all-time vs. New Mexico at the Mountain West Championship. The Aztecs' three wins came in 2000 (W, 3-0), 2004 (W, 2-0) and 2012 (W, 2-0). The lone tie was in 2006 (2ot-T, 1-1), in Salt Lake City, Utah. UNM advanced in that tournament after winning in penalty kicks, 4-3.
Opponent Notebook
(4) New Mexico
The Lobos come into the final with 3-1-2 record in their last six games... New Mexico, however, has not won a game since Oct. 22, when it won at Wyoming, 3-2... UNM has qualified for the championship without winning one game, tying Fresno State, 2-2, in the MW quarterfinals and tying San Jose State, 2-2, in the semifinals... The Lobos advanced to the title game by defeating the Bulldogs and Spartans, 5-4, in penalty kicks... New Mexico has given up 12 goals over the last five outings (2.4 gpg) and averaged 2.8 goals during the same period... Claire Lynch leads the team with 10 goals and 22 points with six game-winners to her credit... Jessie Hix ranks second on the team with eight goals and 16 points... Emily Johnson is the goalkeeper and has played every minute to date... Johnson owns a GAA of 1.24, 56 saves and six shutouts.