SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State women’s soccer team will hit the road this week for the first time in nearly a month. SDSU travels to Logan, Utah, to take on the No. 12 Utah State Aggies at 5 p.m. MT/4 p.m. PT on Thursday before heading to Boise, Idaho, to face the Boise State Broncos at 1 p.m. MT/noon PT on Sunday. Both matches will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.
First-place San Diego State (4-5-1, 2-0-0 Mountain West) began Mountain West play last week with shutout wins over Nevada (5-0) and UNLV (2-0). Denise Castro scored twice in the win over Nevada and once more against UNLV on her way to Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week honors. Trinity Coker also scored in both matches for SDSU including the game-winner vs. the Rebels. Mia Lane was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week as she scored her first career goal against the Wolf Pack while picking up her first career assist on Boston Girman’s first collegiate goal in the match. Emma Gaines-Ramos had a pair of assists in both matches to tie for the team lead. Alexa Madueno garnered Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week accolades for two shutouts with a dozen saves on the week. Castro leads the Aztecs with six goals and 13 points and Carlin Blake and Gaines-Ramos pace the roster with four assists. Castro ranks in the top two in the Mountain West in goals, goals per game, points and points per game while Blake and Gaines-Ramos are tied for second in assists. Alexa Madueno has played the entire season in goal for SDSU, totaling 48 saves (most in the MW), equivalent to 4.8 per game (also the most in the Mountain West), with a trio of shutouts. San Diego State head coach Mike Friesen’s 190 wins are tied for the most by a coach in Mountain West history with former member Brigham Young’s Jennifer Rockwood.
No. 12 Utah State (10-0-2, 1-0-1 MW) has yet to lose this season. The Aggies have been ranked in the top 20 in each of the last six polls including the top 12 in the last five. USU opened its conference schedule with a 4-0 win at San Jose State before a scoreless tie at Fresno State. Another scoreless tie against Washington State marked the only time in non-conference play that the Aggies did not win prior to Mountain West competition. Utah State closed August with wins over Texas Tech (2-0) and at Utah (2-0) and Brigham Young (2-1). San Diego State and Utah State have played 13 times and the Aztecs are unbeaten, with nine victories and four ties. All the matchups have come since 2010. When the teams have met in Logan, SDSU is 4-0-1 with wins in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 before a tie in 2022. The Aztecs and Aggies also faced off in the 2022 Mountain West tournament, ending in a 0-0 tie with San Diego State advancing in the penalty shootout 19-18.
Boise State (8-2-1, 1-0-1 MW) began Mountain West play with a 1-0 win at Fresno State before tying 1-1 at San Jose State. Among the Broncos’ eight wins was a 2-1 victory at Eastern Washington on September 22. The Aztecs defeated the Eagles 4-2 a week earlier. Prior to Sunday’s match, Boise State will battle the New Mexico Lobos on Thursday. The Aztecs and Broncos have faced off 19 times with 11 Aztec wins and no ties. San Diego State is 4-5 in Boise, where the Aztecs won three of the first four matches before dropping four of the last five. SDSU won 1-0 last season and has taken four of the last six matches overall.
Following this week’s action, the Aztecs head to Colorado for matches at Colorado College on October 10 and Air Force on October 13. They will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.