The San Diego State men’s soccer team scored all three goals in the second half to defeat Utah Tech 3-0 Thursday night at the Sports Deck, ending their non-conference schedule undefeated (6-0-1).
Forward Austin Brummett netted two goals, making it five consecutive games where he has scored and six goals on the season. Forward Terence Okoeguale scored the second goal of the match, which is his fifth this season.
Goalkeeper Logan Erb continued his clean sheet campaign with three saves to earn his fifth shutout individually.
“We pride ourselves on our defense and getting clean sheets is our number one priority,” head coach Ryan Hopkins said. “We don’t give up that many good looks at our goal, but it’s nice to know we have a big-time goalkeeper.”
The first half was a defensive battle on both sides. The teams played aggressively, recording 14 fouls. The Aztecs were called for nine of those fouls, but they were able to conclude the half 0-0.
“It was scrappy, but these guys are well trained to be firefighters and handle fires they need to put out, or any balls they need to take out,” Erb said.
Both teams had five shots in the first half, with the Aztecs recording three on goal compared to the Trailblazers one on goal. That one shot came late in the first half where Erb denied the Trailblazers’ Oliver Stone with a diving effort.
The Aztecs stepped on the gas in the second half, starting when Okoegule got fouled in the box, awarding the Aztecs a penalty opportunity. Brummett netted the ball down the middle giving SDSU a 1-0 lead in the 58th minute.
“(In regards to penalty kicks) we’ve been a little bit unsure of who should take it,” Hopkins said. “It was nice that (Brummett) stepped up and buried it.”
In the 77th minute, Okoeguale got his opportunity to score. Midfielder Alexander Levengood found Okoeguale in the middle of the field, allowing him to maneuver into the box to find his opening for a shot that extended the lead to 2-0.
Brummett netted his second goal aided by Rommee Jaridly 4 minutes later. Brummett found an opportunity to shoot from outside the box, which Trailblazers goalkeeper Stockton Short couldn’t secure and the ball ended up bouncing into the goal to make it 3-0.
Erb made two spectacular saves in the second half. One being a one-handed save in the 65th minute and then a diving save in the 78th minute.
“It’s the less you think, the more you do,” Erb said. “The team works day in and day out to prepare me for things like this.”
This is the second time in program history that the Aztecs have finished undefeated in non-conference games. The first time this occurred was in 2005 with the same record of 6-0-1. The Aztecs moved on to make it to the NCAA Division I tournament that same season.
“We just take it one game at a time, and we keep grinding and figure out how to get results like we have all throughout non-conference,” Hopkins said.
The Aztecs will begin conference play at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday Sept. 28 against the University of California at the SDSU Sports Deck.
