San Diego State Aztecs
Mountain West
The San Diego State women’s soccer team has quietly shot up the national rankings in 2012 by being very dominant at home. The Aztecs have compiled an 12-0-0 home record so en-route to the Mountain West Conference regular season championship. Also, San Diego State has gotten some great non-conference results beating Pepperdine and Portland on the road, along with battling Stanford to a 1-0 loss on the road at the Santa Clara Tournament in September. This is a very confident, skilled team that can battle the elite in the country and has a great chance in a one-game scenario in the NCAA Tournament.
2012 Record: 19-1-1, 7-0-0
Coach: Mike Friesen
Good Results: 8/31 Pepperdine (1-0), 9/7 at Minnesota (1-0), 9/9 vs Iowa State (2-1)
Bad Results: 9/14 vs Stanford (0-1), 9/16 at Santa Clara (1-1)
Why They Can Surprise:
The confidence gained from the non-conference schedule is going to serve the Aztecs well in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. They are going to know that whoever they play it will be an opponent that they can beat on any given day. Senior forward/midfielder Megan Jurado leads the way on the attack for San Diego State as she has tallied 14 goals heading into Sunday’s Mountain West Conference Tournament championship match against New Mexico. The defense for the Aztecs has also been outstanding and they have limited opponents to roughly eight shots per match. In addition, San Diego State has only given up multiple goals in a match on just two occasions against UC Irvine and on the road at Portland.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The level of NCAA Tournament inexperience on this team is high as the Aztecs have not played in the postseason since 2009. It is going to be very important for players such as Jurado and senior Sarah Halverson show the underclassmen how to prepare properly for the much more intense level of play in the NCAA Tournament. The other concern would be how the team would react if they have to go on the road and fall behind early. If the Aztecs fall behind in any postseason match, they need to limit the damage to one goal deficits and give themselves a chance to recover, and if necessary, force penalty kick shootouts in order to advance on in the tournament.
Key Strikers:
Megan Jurado, Senior, 14 goals, 9 assists
Hannah Keane, Sophomore, 5 goals, 5 assists
Sarah Halverson, Senior, 5 goals, 3 assists
Haley Locker, Sophomore, 4 goals, 6 assists
Key Midfielders:
Kelsey Booth, Sophomore, 3 goals, 3 assists
Victoria Barba, Freshman, 2 goals, 2 assists
Carli Johnson, Junior, 2 goals, 3 assists
Key Defenders:
Tiffany Hurst, Senior, 4 goals, 3 assists
Haley Palmer, Junior, 0 goals, 3 assists
Rachael McGlinchy, Senior, 0 goals, 2 assists
Key Goalkeepers:
Rachel Boaz, Sophomore, 0.49 goals against average, .848 save percentage, 10 shutouts
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 1.89 (58th in nation, 1st in conference)
Goals-Against Average: 0.567 (11, 1)
Shutout Percentage: 0.526 (23, 1)
Save Percentage: 0.836 (47, 1)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
San Diego State 2009 First Round Defeated San Diego
San Diego State 2009 Second Round Lost to UCLA
San Diego State 1999 First Round Lost to San Diego
San Diego State 1998 Second Round Defeated USC
San Diego State 1998 Third Round Lost to Portland
*all team stats through 10/28
See All Women’s Soccer Postseason Capsules
