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Second-Seeded Aztecs to Face Top-Seeded BYU in MWC Title Game
Championship match set for Saturday at noon MT
Nov. 6, 2009
SAN DIEGO - SDSU-BYU MWC Championship Release in PDF Format
GAME WEEK RESET
AZTEC STORY LINES
- San Diego State advanced to the championship game after rallying from a one-goal second-half deficit to beat Utah in double overtime, 2-1. SDSU received a goal from Cat Walker in the 83rd minute to tie the game and Sarah Halverson sent everyone home in the 108th minute. Niki Fernandes assisted on both goals, while Hayley Marsh was credited with a helper on the game-winner after providing the outlet pass to Fernandes. - SDSU is making just its third-ever appearance in the MWC finals and first since 2004. In 1999, the league's first season, the Aztecs fell to BYU, 2-1, in overtime in nearby Chula Vista, Calif., and then lost in shootout fashion, 4-3, to Utah after two OT periods saw the teams still knotted at 1-1 in 2004. - San Diego State is 1-3 all-time vs. the Cougars in MWC tourney action. BYU owns a slight edge in the all-time series leading, 9-8-4. Earlier this season, the Aztecs took an early 1-0 lead in the league opener, before settling for a 2-2 tie. More information on this season's previous meeting can be found below. - A win over the Cougars in Provo would be San Diego State's first in exactly 11 years. SDSU's last W at BYU occurred on Nov. 7, 1998. A victory would also clinch an NCAA Tournament berth for the Aztecs. SDSU's only two postseason appearances came in 1998 and 1999. - With the win over Utah, the Aztecs snapped a 10-game winless streak against the Utes. SDSU's last victory over Utah occurred on Oct. 11, 2001. - San Diego State extended the school's single-season record for consecutive matches without a loss on Thursday. The win over Utah pushed the Aztecs' streak to 14. In its last 14 outings, SDSU is 10-0-4. The overall program record for most games without a loss is 16 when the 1995 group finished the campaign with a record of 8-0-2 and the 1996 squad open the season by winning their first six. - SDSU's 14-game undefeated streak is the fifth-longest in the nation (as of Nov. 5). The Aztecs' last defeat happened on Sept. 11 in a 2-1 overtime loss at Arizona State. - On Saturday, the Aztecs will put their season-long six-match winning streak on the line. The streak matches the school's longest since winning six in a row back in 1999. - San Diego State finished the Mountain West Conference season with an unbeaten record of 5-0-2. This is the first time in Mountain West history that an Aztec team navigated through conference play without suffering a loss. In fact, the last and only other time it has happened in school history was in 1998 when that team went 6-0 in the Western Athletic Conference. - San Diego State's five Mountain West wins is its most since going 5-1-0 in 1999, the MWC's first year of existence. The Aztecs' 13 overall wins thus far is the most since the 2002 season when they finished 13-7-0. - SDSU has scored 34 goals this year, which is the most since the 2002 campaign. - What a difference a year makes. Last year, San Diego State went a combined 1-6-1 on the road and 1-8-2 in road/neutral games. This season, the Aztecs are an impressive 7-2-2 in road/neutral contests. Their 13 overall wins, meanwhile, is four more than any Mike Friesen-coached team and is the most since 2002 when that team won 13. The five Mountain West wins are also the most by a Friesen-led team.
OPPOSITION NOTEBOOK
AZTECS VS. THE OPPOSITION
AZTECS PICK UP A TON OF HARDWARE Walker is the school's first offensive player of the year in school history, while Friesen is SDSU's first coach of the year since Chuck Clegg earned WAC honors in 1998. The Aztecs' three first-teamers is the program's most since it had three in 2004 and the four overall all-conference selections is the most since 2007.
MORE TO COME
HOMECOMING
MWC CHAMPIONSHIPS COMING TO SDSU IN 2010
LAST MEETING: #13 BYU AT SDSU
The game started on a fast note as San Diego State struck first just over three minutes into the game. Tiffany Hurst continued her strong play of late and beat two defenders on the right side. After having the ball knocked away momentarily, Hurst touched the ball back to a breaking Allie Crowson, who deposited the ball in the upper right corner of the goal from approximately 16 yards out. For Hurst, it was her second assist in as many games and her fourth point in her last two outings. Crowson, meanwhile, notched her second goal of the season. With the match just 3:09 old, both teams traded possessions throughout the first half and produced very few quality scoring chances. After the Crowson goal, BYU's top scoring opportunity came 51 seconds later when Kassidy C. Shumway blasted a ball toward SDSU goalkeeper Aubree Southwick, but it sailed high. On the flip side, the Aztecs' Niki Fernandes nearly gave San Diego State a two-goal lead in the 33rd minute when she blew by two defenders with a creative one-on-one move, but didn't have the angle she needed to get her shot past BYU goalie McKinzie Olson. With that said, the Aztecs went into the locker room ahead, 1-0. In the second half, the Cougars became aggressive offensively and it paid off at 52:06 when SDSU mishandled an attempt to clear the ball after which put the ball in Jessica Ringwood's possession 13 yards out. Seconds later, Ringwood calmly tucked the ball into the right corner past a leaping Southwick to provide the tying goal. BYU, who came into the game having won seven straight, continued its aggressive game plan and it netted the go-ahead goal in the 65th minute. Shumway scored off a header from eight yards out after consecutive passes from Lauren Anderson and Carlee Payne. As time was running off the clock, San Diego State started to get its rhythm back in the final 10-15 minutes. In the 86th minute, the Aztecs' Millie Allen had her shot blocked, but Cat Walker gathered the rebound and blasted a shot of her own that went just high to end a frantic two-shot sequence. With the ball and momentum on San Diego State's side, the Aztecs took advantage of the opportunity in the 89th minute when Britney Bennett found Megan McQueeny. Bennett, who entered the game at the start of the second half, dribbled the ball on the far right side and sent a pass into the middle of the box that found McQueeny. The sophomore, from seven yards out, then put a shot on goal that went through traffic in front of the goal and found the back of the net to even the score at 2 apiece and essentially force overtime. The goal was McQueeny's first of the season and second of her career. In the final 24-plus minutes of regulation, San Diego State outshot the Cougars, 5-1. In the first extra session, San Diego State continued to control the ball, but attempted just one shot. The Aztec defense, which has been solid all season, prevented BYU from taking a single shot as the match moved into another 10-minute stanza. Like the first OT, the second frame did not produce a goal as the game ended in a draw. The match, which featured two of the top teams in the Pacific Region, was nearly equal in every statistical category. Brigham Young owned a slim lead in shots (15-14), shots on goal (5-4) and corner kicks (7-6), while San Diego State finished with three saves to the Cougars' two. The teams were even in fouls with 13 apiece. With their two goals, the Aztecs became just the third team to score twice on BYU this year. Coming into the game, the Cougars had allowed just nine goals in their 13 games.
As previously stated, the tie extended San Diego State's unbeaten streak to seven games. It was the longest such streak since 1998 when that team went unbeaten and won 12 straight en route to the WAC championship and the third round of the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs also extended their unbeaten mark to four against BYU in games played on the SDSU campus and are 5-2-2 vs. the Cougars all time in San Diego.
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