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San Diego State Beats Air Force, 2-0, Advances To Title Game Aztecs improve to 8-7-5 on the year.
Nov. 4, 2004
Complete Release in PDF Format
PROVO, Utah - In the last semifinal game of the 2004 Mountain West Conference Women's Soccer Championships, two goals by San Diego State were more than enough to lift the Aztecs 2-0 over the Air Force Academy, Thursday at BYU's South Stadium.
Amanda McKay, a sophomore midfielder from Bellflower, Calif., got the first corner kick of the game which sailed right into the hands of Air Force's keeper Jennifer Drew. In Drew's attempt to defect the ball out, it bounced back into the goal for the first point of the game. The score would remain 1-0 until the 71st minute when San Diego State's Jessica Girdner got the ball from Gina Salinas, and bounced in a header off the goal post for the second goal of the night. It was the first career goal for both McKay and Girdner.
"All season long we played safe, and until 20 minutes were left in the second half, they didn't have a shot on goal," said SDSU head coach Mike Guiliano. "Even though they had their share of the possession, we still kept things safe in front of the goal and that was exciting. I continue to just love the way we organized our defense and played high pressure in the back and that works for us."
After coming off an emotional win over host BYU on Wednesday night, Air Force's head coach Marty Buckley felt his team was a little flat in the first half but improved in the second half of action. "Our second half was a lot better than the first and if we were to play both halves again I think it would have been a different game," Buckley said. "We gave up that early corner kick and that just killed us. I'm really proud of our kids, they did a really good job at the end there."
The Air Force Academy finished the game with three shots on goal and four corner kicks. The Falcons finish the season with a 4-13-2 record. They came into the MWC tournament as the No. 7 seed and upset No. 2 BYU to advance to the semifinals.
San Diego State, who improves to 8-7-5 on the year, tallied 11 shots on goal and had six corner kicks. They will play the University of Utah for the MWC tournament championship game on Saturday, Nov., 6 at 11 a.m., at South Stadium on the BYU campus. The winner gets an automatic invitation to the 2004 NCAA Women's Soccer Championships.
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