No schedule yet, but I'm kind of watching water boil now. So, let's at least start with Friesen's ;12 signing class, shall we? Victoria Barba, Tiffany Geer, Ashley Hauke, Kirsten O'Neil and Kelsey Schwartz http://goaztecs.cstv.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/050312aaa.html
And now, three new hires for Friesen's staff. http://goaztecs.cstv.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/062212aaa.html
And now the schedule: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools...pdf/2012-13/misc_non_event/2012WSSchedule.pdf I guess Pepperdine and UCI ought to be mildly entertaining, but besides that, nothing jumps out at me. Wouldn't mind doing a UCSB or Pdx road trip.
First home match down. SDSU 1 - 0 SMU (2OT). Lots and lots of tired girls. Lights still not working, so match was moved up. ASU on Sunday.
Enjoyed a nice afternoon on the Mesa. Was worried it would be a scorcher, but it was just right with the Pacific providing the A/C. The team looked good. Very much in control of the game. The fans around me said SMU was a good bit better than ASU. ASU was just ok. Had one central midfielder who was good but got marked out of the game. SDSU looks smooth, technical and organized. Athletic as always and physical. Some real talent on the field. I was more impressed than a year ago and I thought they were very good then. The parents sitting next to me were saying this is a real tight knit group with good leadership and the new coaches Friesen brought in have been great additions. This is a tough stretch with a mid-week game and a Friday game against St Francis who is a strong mid-major type team and Seattle who just spanked St. Mary's 5-1. The team will have 4 games in a week span and that's tough on anyone. Hoping for a good week from the Aztecs.
Congratulations on the nice start to your season. SMU is in position to potentially have a really nice 2012, so hopefully the win will be beneficial to your RPI come tournament time. It was heartbreaking to drop the season opener in 2 OT, especially when the weather turned Friday to be a lot closer to what SMU was used to during preseason. It sounds like the match overall was pretty tight, although SDSU did seem to be pretty much in control of the second OT. Best wishes through the rest of the season.
Thank you. The fans I was sitting with (near) were very complimentary of SMU and of course we are hoping you have a fantastic season haha. I know SMU had some great results last year and brought a lot of talent back. Then seeing the scoreline of the 4-0 beatdown of Missouri we knew it would be a tough game for the Aztecs. OT is a brutal way to lose for anyone. Best wishes going forward. Petrucelli will do well there, IMO.
I'm no expert compared to some posters on BS, just to my own family . I was pleasantly surprised by our SMU result, because I had thought CP had done pretty well at Texas. It was indeed a close match, but we prevailed. I don't know a thing about ASU, even though I went to high school in the Phx. area. Never ventured down to Tempe. Very much looking forward to our match vs. SFU (PA). I used to live over in the Pittsburgh area, and this school is just east of Johnstown, IIRC. I've been through that part of the state a lot. I expect a win, but maybe just because I don't know anything about SFU (PA)'s conference.
Well, last year, St Francis was at the bottom of the top 1/3 teams in NCAA Division I, right around #100 in the ARPI. San Diego State was 10 to 20 ranking positions better. With SDS having home field advantage, they should win, but it could be a tight game.
It was a weird one. Tight scoreline. 1-0 to SDSU (a second for us was called back). They seem to have a good keeper, the Red Flash do. But the rest of the team wasn't all that helpful. I stopped counting shots late in the first half, but it was approaching 20 for us, and 1 for them. Great weather. A bit humid, but fairly cool. Very sparsely attended match. Free posters! Probably many more left for the Seattle U match on Fri.
One of those games that makes you squirm in your seat and question the soccer gods! I felt like it wasn't a matter of if they would score but when. But I thought they created well and it's hard to be on the attack the whole game and then stay tight defensively. St Francis gave it a go there at the end but the gap was too big. I will say hats off to St. Francis for some quality defending...clearing multiple balls off the line, and not getting pulled out of shape during the constant SDSU attack. I was impressed with their back line. Tough week continues with a game TOMORROW (that's 4 games in a week) vs. Seattle. This will no doubt be a gut check game with some tired legs and minds. A good test to see the mental makeup of this team vs a good team. So far enjoying watching this team play. I plan on being there tomorrow.
I'd like to, but my stupid glasses have been missing since this morning, and if my cleaning lady can't find them (I've searched nooks and crannies I never knew existed) tomorrow, I'm out. If that does get resolved, I look forward to both soccer and volleyball tomorrow. Anxious to get to Boise!
Sorry for the delay in the write up. Friday's win over Seattle was a fun one, if you were just a few minutes late getting settled you missed the scoring! SDSU scored 40 seconds in with a screamer of a goal into the side netting and scored a few minutes later off a corner. The initial shot was actually in off the underside of the crossbar but an Aztec was there to put in the rebound leaving no doubt. The reffing was terrible IMHO. Seattle after going down two early (and it could've been more if not for the woodwork and a few good saves) started just hammering the Aztecs with very few getting called. I thought the ref could've read the situation better and calmed the game down but he let it get pretty chippy. The second half saw the game settle somewhat and Seattle actually turned out to be pretty decent. SDSU still had the quality but Seattle had a few dangerous changes...not shots necessarily but dangerous moments. I was impressed with SDSU's fight after 4 games in a week...they looked tired but full of fight and purpose. They were missing a few players...maybe fatigue...so a week break will be welcome. Pepperdine next Friday should be a good one. I am sure SDSU is anxious to see where they stack up against a ranked team as none of these 4 teams were that challenging. Still to be 4-0 with 4 shutouts is a great start. Happy Aztec fans!
Way to go, Aztecs! You got the 1-0 victory over Pepperdine (Jurado). We scored a ridonkolous amount of shots compared to them, but it took until after HT to score the goal. Great crowd, functioning lights, and very cool t-shirts (that they ran out of before I could get there because I was trying to squeeze in the Utah State/Montana women's volleyball game before it). I liked the weather, too, but that's very much up to opinion. Muggy but cool. ETA: And there's the report: http://goaztecs.cstv.com/sports/w-soccer/recaps/090112aaa.html Next home match is vs. UCI on 9/21. But for now, the Minnesota tourney. 9/7 at UMn, and 9/9 vs. Iowa State.
That was a dismantling. Wow. I enjoyed watching this SDSU team compete tonight. Their tenacity and hustle were first-rate but their skill and technical ability were remarkable. Maybe it was the lights or the crowd or whatever but SDSU just took apart Pepperdine. I know they play contrasting styles but wow. SDSU played so pretty with the ball, but then brought the lumber on defense. Pepperdine's direct style was so ineffective it had to be frustrating for the Waves. I thought the Aztecs looked the part tonight. If you came in with no prior knowledge you would've thought SDSU was ranked in the top 10. So pleased that SDSU added lights to the Sportsdeck. What a great atmosphere for night games. Great weather, venue, locale...I am really looking forward to more games ahead.
Well it wasn't pretty but it was a win and another shutout. This was not the team's best soccer tonight but they seemed to get stronger as the game went on and definitely battled to earn the win. Most of Minnesota's shots were from long range and not on frame. Each team had 2 or 3 legit dangerous chances so the game was pretty even in that regard. The ref was TERRIBLE. Even from the grainy video feed I could tell how bad those calls were. How they expect 55-60 year old men to keep up with the play of college women is crazy to me. He kept giving the Gophers free kicks off of nothing tackles. I was surprised because those are non calls and I thought in the Big 10/11 they play physical soccer. But it was nice to see the Aztecs keep fighting even though they weren't connecting their passes. The back line was again solid and the GK has done a very good job. Proud of the team. Good first road win for them.
Haha, right?! I read his post and held my tongue. The first half was sloppy to be sure, for certain we did not look our best. But our defending was still great (all their shots were from distance) and the refereeing was really bad maybe making the Aztecs look like thugs. I'm sure he's bummed too, that's a tough way to end the game. I'm more encouraged tho because it's tough to win when you are playing poorly.
Another win on the road for SDSU, pushing their record to 7-0. No video feed or stats for me on the day, but SDSU gave up their first goal of the season after taking a 1-0. Went into half 1-1. Got a late game winner from Megan Jurado. I can only imagine how tough it is to win 2 games away on a weekend, especially with the second game starting at 8:30 am on their bodies. Next weekend will obviously be a huge test, away at Santa Clara, facing Stanford and SCU. Stanford will be getting Chi back and seem to be rounding into form. Great games to challenge the team and opportunities to get better and play top level competition. Excited!