Men’s soccer scores early, plays to a 1-1 draw against Washington

Aztecs earned their third point in Pac-12 Conference play

by Abigail Segoviano, Staff Writer • October 30, 2023

San Diego State midfielder Jules Anderson takes on Washington midfielder Cooper Brunell on Sunday, Oct. 29 at the SDSU Sports Deck. Anderson’s first half goal helped the Aztecs come away with a 1-1 draw.

The San Diego State men’s soccer hosted the Washington Huskies in a hard fought draw, 1-1, on Sunday at the SDSU Sports Deck.

A first-half goal scored by midfielder Jules Anderson at the 22nd minute mark — assisted by forward Rommee Jaridly — set off the Aztecs (6-4-5, 0-4-3 Pac-12 Conference) to keep on the attack offensively and defensively.

“The ball just popped over to me and my eyes just went up,” Anderson said. “Coach said before the game he wanted us to take more risks, more shots. I just looked up (and) I didn’t see anyone; I just decided to rip on and hit the back of the net, so I was really happy.”

This is Anderson’s first goal of the season, and Hopkins mentioned what kind of key player he is for the team.

“(Anderson) just adds such composure on the ball and a calmness,” Hopkins said. “He wants the ball, he wants to make big plays and you can obviously see that from the goal. He just adds the maturity.”

The match was physical as the Aztecs fouled 17 times while Washington (5-6-6, 2-4-3) fouled 14 times. Additionally, the Aztecs and Huskies combined had a total of four yellow cards; Aztecs with one and Huskies with three.

Defender Nate Jones scored a goal for the Huskies 16 seconds into the second half with assists from midfielder Imanol Rosales and forward Nick O’Brien.

Through the second half, the Aztecs had many opportunities to score from open shots, but couldn’t finish strong. Hopkins shared part of SDSU’s game plan was to try and generate more offense.

“I don’t know why we don’t shoot, literally on the scout it said, ‘Please shoot more,’” Hopkins said. “That was literally our high-hitting analysis for Washington. Trying to get the guys to shoot more, take chances and take risks… we’ve got to continue to work on it in training and continue to give them encouragement.”

Anderson mentioned the highs and lows against the Huskies.

“Pros, I think that was the best effort I’ve seen for the boys all season,” Anderson said. “We really want to get that win. Unfortunately, we didn’t come out with it, but they want to keep our season alive.”

The Aztecs will be on a road trip to Northern California next as they face No. 15 Stanford on Thursday, Nov. 2, and Cal on Sunday, Nov. 5.

“I don’t think we need to change too much, I just think we just need to execute better on some of those attacking plays,” Anderson said.

The Aztecs will return home at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 10, to close out Pac-12 Conference play against UCLA. SDSU will celebrate Senior Night during the match.

“I think we’ve shown time and time again that we can play with anyone in the country,” Hopkins said. “It’s just about the details and making sure we’re tuned into every single moment in the game.”

About the Contributors

Abigail Segoviano, Staff Writer

Originally from Richmond, California, Abigail Segoviano is a second-year student, majoring in Journalism with a minor in Spanish. This is Abigail’s second year at the Daily Aztec where she got the opportunity to expand her writing skills as a journalist. As a staff writer last year she had the opportunity to mainly cover the entire season of women’s volleyball and also covered a couple of games for women’s basketball. This year her main focus is to branch out and write for different sports. Additionally to get involved in other sections such as Multimedia and Mundo Azteca. Abigail is the Vice President of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (SDSU Chapter). Abigail received an award from The Daily Aztec: “Consistent Contributor.” In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching sports, listening to music, and going on adventures with friends.

Christie Yeung, Photographer

Born in Hong Kong, Christie Yeung is a first-generation transfer student who majors in journalism at San Diego State University. Prior to arriving at SDSU, she served as the Gaming/Tech Editor, Features Editor and Managing Editor of SAC Media at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California where she was placed in on-the-spot competitions such as fourth in News photo, second in Portrait photo, first in Sports photo, first in Social Media and second in News writing, along with a meritorious mention in the Enterprise News Story/Series category from Journalism Association of Community Colleges. She was also awarded second in Best Breaking News Stories by the California College Media Association. During her free time, she likes to watch European soccer games, read, listen to Cantonese-pop music and play video games and Dungeons & Dragons with her online friends. She also has a sweet tooth and cannot turn away anything with Nutella in it.