SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men’s soccer team plays at UTRGV Thursday at 4:30 p.m. PT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Aztec Tidbits
- The Aztecs went 2-0-0 last week with wins over Seattle (2-1) and San Jose State (1-0).
- San Diego State is a perfect 5-0-0 in WAC play and alone in first place.
- This is the first time in program history that the Aztecs have won five conference matches in a row.
- SDSU is up to No. 33 in the RPI rankings.
- The Aztecs are No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches Far West Region poll.
- SDSU gave Seattle their first conference loss since the 2022 season Thursday.
- Robbie Matei scored the game-winner in both of SDSU’s wins last week.
- SDSU could clinch the WAC regular season championship as early as Sunday.
- The Aztecs lead the WAC in assists (21) and win-loss-tied percentage (64.3%) and are second in shot accuracy (43.5%).
- In conference play, SDSU is allowing 0.40 goals per game, the best in the WAC.
- SDSU is undefeated when scoring first (7-0-2) and undefeated when tied or leading at the half (7-0-2).
- The Aztecs have played in eight matches decided by one goal and gone 7-1-0 in those matches and won six in a row.
- SDSU has won their last three road matches for the first time since 1989.
- The Aztecs are 23-11-5 at home since the beginning of the 2021 season.
- 13 different Aztecs have recorded a point this season and 10 have at least two points.
- The Aztecs have used the same starting lineup in each of their last five matches, breaking a streak of nine consecutive matches with a different starting XI.
- The Aztecs will be competing in the WAC as an affiliate member this year following the demise of the Pac-12. SDSU, who played in the Pac-12 for the past 19 years, played in the WAC from 1996-98. The WAC has sent multiple
- SDSU’s match vs UC Davis on Sept. 21 at Snapdragon Stadium set a program record for attendance with 3,802 fans. All three of SDSU’s games at Snapdragon Stadium have resulted in new school records for attendance.
- The Aztecs ended non-conference play with a 3-4-2 record, their first time having a losing record in non-conference play since 2013. SDSU had gone undefeated in their non-conference slate in two of the previous three years.
- SDSU’s adjusted non-conference RPI is No. 15 in the nation. Three of their non-conference opponents have a RPI rank in the top 25.
- San Diego State has lost just four non-conference matches over their last 23 chances (14-4-5) and is 18-2-2 in non-conference home matches under head coach Ryan Hopkins (5th season).
- SDSU’s five goals against UC Riverside in their season opener tied for their most vs. a DI opponent in the Ryan Hopkins era (5th season).
- San Diego State has been in the national rankings in two of the last three seasons.
- Last season was the first since 2012 that SDSU had four players with at least 10 points. Three of those players return: Austin Brummett (17), Rommee Jaridly (13) and Terence Okoeguale (10).
Player Notes
-Robbie Matei was named the WAC Offensive Player of the Week after scoring the game-winning goals in both of SDSU’s wins last week. This was Matei’s second time winning the award.
- Matei leads the Aztecs with six goals and four of them have been game-winners.
- Matei’s four game-winning goals are the second most in the nation.
- Matei, Terence Okoeguale and Austin Brummett all have at least five goals. It’s the first time since 2012 that three Aztecs have had at least five goals.
- All three are in the top seven in the WAC in goals and points.
- Okoeguale leads the team with 14 points (5 goals and 4 assists).
- Brummett has had an assist in each of SDSU’s last two matches and his 12 points are third on the team.
- Brummett’s 12 goals over the last two seasons are tied for the most by an Aztec over a two-year span since Jeroen Meefout across the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
- Brumett is second in the WAC in shot accuracy (57%) and third in shots on goal per game (1.1).
- In conference play, goalkeeper Djibril Doumbia leads the WAC in goals against average (0.40).
- Long Island transfer André Puente was named a “Defender to Watch” by the United Soccer Coaches before the season, one of 16 players to be highlighted. Puente has been an All-NEC First Team selection each of the past three seasons and made the All-Northeast Region Team the past two years.
- Redshirt sophomore defender Reid Fisher was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and a Freshman All-American (College Soccer News) last season.
- Both Puente and Fisher were named top 100 players in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer in the preseason.
- Fisher was tabbed the WAC Preseason Defender of the Year by the league’s coaches.
- Rommee Jaridly, a Pac-12 honorable mention selection a year ago, is tied with Okoeguale for the team lead with four assists. Last year he was second on the team with 13 points (4 goals and 5 assists).
- Three players have started every match for SDSU: Brummett, Fisher and Jaridly.
- Fisher is the only Aztec to play every minute this season.
- Five other Aztecs average at least 75 minutes per match. Beto Apolinar, Tristan Viviani, Jaridly, Israel Carrillo and Brummett.
- Beto Apolinar, the team captain, is second on the team in minutes played (86 per match).
- SDSU has 10 players in their fourth, fifth or sixth year of college.
Opponent Notebook (UTRGV)
The Vaqueros are 3-6-3 and 1-2-2 in the WAC… They are 2-2-2 at home… They went 0-1-1 last week with a loss at UNLV and a 1-1 draw at Utah Tech… Kgodiso Sukati and Jaime Carrillo are tied for the team lead with 10 points… Goalkeeper Fernando Carreon has a goals allowed average of 1.44... Head coach Bryheem Hancock is in his fifth season at UTRGV… The Aztecs are 3-0-0 all-time vs UTRGV with all three meetings being held between 2015-17.
Coach Hopkins Take on UTRGV:
“UTRGV is a scrappy team that can hurt you with their possession game and transitions. The league table is so tight with bids for the conference tournament on the line so we know this will be a big test for us on the road.”