San Diego, Calif. – In its lone tune up for the 2019 season, the San Diego State Aztecs took it on the chin in a 5-0 defeat at the hands of the Washington State Cougars on Friday night on the Sports Deck.
From the opening whistle, Washington State played directly at SDSU challenging every possession and every pass, and through the first 30 minutes enjoyed the better run of play. WSU broke through with its first goal little more than eight minutes in.
Averie Collins, in the box, took a cross and headed it past SDSU keeper Brooke Lisowski for a 1-0 lead. Little more than 10 minutes later, Morgan Weaver took a pass inside the midfield line, weaved her way through a couple of defenders and scored to the far post on a shot in the box to make it a 2-0 Cougars lead.
Weaver struck again in the 32nd minute. She stole the ball near midfield, drove to the right side of the box and slotted the ball into the left corner for a 3-0 lead.
With Washington State having an advantage in both size and speed, SDSU had to rely on its quickness and ability to change direction to control the ball and the play. In the final 15 minutes of the first half they began to control their possessions and settled into a nice rhythm. However, the Cougars took the 3-0 lead into the half.
For the majority of the second half, the teams played fairly evenly, but less than 10 minutes Washington State made it 4-0 on an Elyse Bennett shot in the box. Seven minutes after that, following a change in goal for SDSU, MacKenzie Ellerston found the back of the net for the final tally of the night.
For the game, Washington State out shot the Aztecs 16-to-6 including 6-to-1 in shots on goal. Chloe Frisch and Malia Kaleiohi led SDSU with a pair of shots each and Firsch's shot in the 74th minute was the only San Diego State attempt that was on frame. Sara Broacha and Lauren Dicus attempted one shot each.
Lisowski, a fifth-year senior who started the match in goal, played 60:26 and was responsible for four of the Cougars goals. Freshman Clarissa Ramirez played the final 29:34, giving up one goal and making one save.
The Cougars had three players, Weaver, Collins and Shayna Wieldon, with three shots each. Ella Dederick started in goal and was replaced at half time by Rachel Johnson. Johnson made the save on the one shot which reached the WSU line.
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"In the first 30 minutes we just did not play the way we have been training, and to be fair we were missing a few people and had a young team out there, but we settled in and from that point on I thought we were fine. We made some critical errors to give away several goals early, but that is why you play exhibition games and why we specifically scheduled this team. In many aspects, we are going to see a similar team to this one in five days and we have to be ready for that level of play. We can't replicate the intensity of a regular season match in training, so this was a great benefit for the entire team, but specifically the freshman. They now know the speed of the college game and will be prepared for it as we move forward." – SDSU head coach Mike Friesen
UP NEXT
The Aztecs open the regular season with a four-game homestand, starting with a pair of games next week. Things get underway on Thursday night hosting preseason No. 22 Texas Tech and then SDSU wraps up opening week welcoming LIU to the SDSU Sports Deck. Kickoffs are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and 12:00 p.m., respectively.
Women’s Soccer Drops Exhibition Match
