SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State women's soccer team scored twice in the first half and then the defense took care of the rest of the game as the Aztecs shutout the Boise State Broncos 2-0 in a Mountain West Conference match on Friday night on the Sports Deck.
With the win, the Aztecs improve to 4-7-0, 2-1-0 in the Mountain West, while Boise State is now 7-3-1, 1-1-1 in conference action.
"We really played as a team," Aztec head coach Mike Friesen said. "I thought one of the biggest things tonight was a sense of unity and togetherness. We talked a lot about being able to get forward. I thought we did that well early, and we were on the front foot for a lot of the game. Boise State is a very good team, so they certainly had their moments as well, but I thought we did a good job and just making sure that everybody did their job but had each other's backs."
The Broncos got off a pair of shots in the first 10 minutes, but then San Diego State took over. In the remaining 35 minutes of the first half the Aztecs outshot Boise State 9-to-1 and struck twice.
"Once we got control of the midfield, I think that really changed the game, especially in the first half," Friesen added. "I thought we were creating separation with our midfield, but we weren't really combining with each other. Once we started to get a hold of the midfield, I thought the game really changed. I think they had two shots in the span of like two minutes. That was it in the first half, and then we kind of took over the game and had tons of chances, obviously we got a couple goals but we created several really good looks at goal as well."
In the 19th minute, Laura Fuentes picked up a ball about 30 yards out from Daniela Filipovic, turned and drove down the middle of the field. At the spot Rachelle Elve and Denise Castro were bookended around the last Boise State defender. Fuentes laid the ball off to her right to Castro, who took a touch and as the defender turned to her, passed to Elve with the heel of her boot. Elve took it and one timed it to beat the Broncos keeper through her legs for a 1-0 lead. It was Elve's second goal in as many games, and Fuentes and Castro picked up assists on the strike.
The Aztecs doubled the lead just over ten minutes later.
At the 29:23 mark, Emma Gaines-Ramos got a pass on the left sideline from Anna Toohey who was at midfield. Gaines-Ramos drove across the field and from 40 yards out threaded the needle, with a pinpoint pass to Castro, who was 15 yards out on the right side of the box. Castro weaved around one defender and fired a left footed shot low past the charging Boise State keeper to make it 2-0. It was her team-leading sixth goal of the season. Gaines-Ramos got an assist, her first point. of the campaign.
The Aztecs took its two-goal advantage into the intermission.
The second half started similarly to the first. Boise State produced five of its eight second half shots in the first 20 minutes, but from there San Diego State settled things down and played a possession game. They limited the Broncos to just three shot attempts in the final 25 minutes and only one dangerous opportunity.
Off a Boise State corner in the 82nd minute, the Broncos got a header from point blank range and it looked to be going into the top corner, just inside the far post. But San Diego State keeper Alexa Madueno, in what has seemingly become commonplace, made a spectacular, one-handed stop to deny the goal and preserve the shutout.
In the game, Madueno faced 11 shots and turned away all three that reached her line to earn her fourth clean sheet of the year and second in the team's three league games.
Castro led the Aztecs offense with a season-high seven shots. Alexys Ocampo and Gaines-Ramos each took two shots, while Fuentes, Toohey and Elve produced one shot each.
THE NOTE
The Aztecs have won four games this season and keeper Alexa Madueno has recorded a clean sheet in each.
UP NEXT
The Aztecs get right back to action on Sunday, Oct. 3 when they host the Utah State Aggies on the Sports Deck. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. PT.
-SDSU-
Aztecs Blank Boise State 2-0
