RENO, Nev. – When it is crunch time, you rely on your seniors for leadership. If San Diego State women's soccer had any hope of hosting the match which will decide the champion of the Mountain West next Saturday, it would need to win on Sunday and striker Veronica Avalos provided that leadership by way of a hat trick in a 3-1 win at Nevada to wrap up the Mountain West regular-season spring schedule.
Avalos, who was appearing in her 34th game as an Aztecs and hadn't scored a goal in her career, picked the final regular season contest to open her account in a big way. She scored three times on four shots, two goals coming in the first half, and provided more than enough offense for San Diego State to earn the win.
As at Boise State on Friday, the Aztecs owned the run of play for the vast majority of Sunday's contest and got on the board first.
On the first goal of the game Laura Fuentes, from midfield, fed the ball to Anna Toohey on the left side. Toohey then drove to the end line and played the ball toward the near post. Veronica Avalos was there, settled it and in one motion did a 180 and fired a shot into the net for her first goal of the game at the 36:05 mark.
In the 44th minute, Avalos doubled the Aztecs lead. Jessica Sanders had the ball on the left side and fed Avalos who was near the top of the 18. Avalos gave it right back on a give-and-go and Sanders fired a shot which was blocked by the defense. The ball came right to Avalos who had her back to the goal. She did another 180 and hammered a shot to the far post for a 2-0 lead.
The Wolf Pack cut the deficit to one goal on a 70th minute tally from Lizzy Hairston.
Leading 2-1 in the 89th minute, Toohey had the ball on the left side and drove into the box, where she was tripped and SDSU was awarded a penalty kick. Avalos lined it up and beat the keeper low to the left side for the insurance goal, her third of the game.
For the match, San Diego State outshot Nevada 17-to-3, including 9-to-2 in shots on goal, and the Aztecs had a 5-to-2 advantage in corners.
Leading the offense for SDSU were Avalos and Toohey, who each attempted four shots, and put three and two on frame, respectively. Chloe Frisch, Lauren Dicus and Emma Gaines-Ramos produced two shots each and Sarah Broacha, Daniela Filipovic and Makenna Wallace each took one shot. Alexa Madueno improved her record to 8-2-0 making one save on the day.
Nevada (1-7-2) got single shots from Hairston, Casey Crawford, and Gabby Brown. Kendal Stovall took the loss while making six saves.
The Aztecs end the regular season with an 8-2-0 mark and atop the West Division table, but will have to win the league championship on the road, after New Mexico dispensed with Colorado State today, 2-0. The Lobos finish at 9-1-0 and will host the match which will crown the league's champion next Saturday.
THE NOTE
The Aztecs complete the regular season with a winning record for the ninth time in the last 10 years and for the 11th time in coach Mike Friesen's now 14 seasons.
THE SECOND NOTE
Veronica Avalos scored a hat trick on the first three goals of her career.
-SDSU-
Avalos Hat Trick Paces Aztecs To 3-1 Win
