Men’s soccer dominates the Highlanders 5-2 with late comeback in season opener

A third and fourth goal by Robbie Matei and Austin Brummett helped the Aztecs secure the win after a rough start to the second half

by Abigail Segoviano, Mundo Azteca Editor • August 26, 2024

Olivia Vargo

Forward Austin Brummett runs neck and neck with his opponent to get the ball down the field against UC Riverside at SDSU Sports Deck on Friday, Aug 23. Brummett had two goals to help the Aztecs defeat the Highlanders 5-2.

The San Diego State men’s soccer team (1-0-0) opened their season against the University of California, Riverside (0-1-0), 5-2, at the SDSU Sports Deck on Friday, Aug. 23.

Both teams had their momentum throughout the game, but it was the Aztecs who took control at the end of the second half to get the win.

The Aztecs set the pace by scoring the first goal by junior forward, Austin Brummett, at the eight-minute mark, 1-0. The second goal was scored 25 minutes later when senior midfielder Daniel Pacella made the shot at the 33-minute mark, making the score 2-0. The goal gave out assists to junior forward, Rommee Jaridly and junior midfielder, Beto Apolinar.

That momentum for the Aztecs ended right when the second half started. It was time for the Highlanders to shine. At the 49-minute mark, senior forward Noah Lopez scored with the assist from senior forward Luka Lukic 2-1.

One minute and 27 seconds later, the Highlanders scored another goal by Lopez with the assists from senior midfielder, Christian Ceja and senior forward, Edward Castro. With Lopez’s goal, the Highlanders were tied with the Aztecs, 2-2.

Brummett talked about the momentum that the Highlanders had against the Aztecs.

“The beginning five minutes of each half is a critical moment for us, and we kind of switched off for that and let them back into the game,” Brummett said.

The Aztecs were able to take the lead when Ceja fouled, and the Aztecs were given a penalty kick. Unfortunately, Brummett missed the penalty kick.

At the 70-minute mark, sophomore defender Reid Fisher kicked the ball to the right of the woodwork which bounced back to the players. The rebound off the post gave senior forward Robbie Matei a chance to kick and score a goal for the Aztecs with the assists of Fisher and Jaridly. The goal helped the Aztecs go from a tie to take the lead, 3-2.

The fourth goal scored by the Aztecs came in 27 seconds after the third goal. Brummett scored the next goal with an assist by senior forward Terence Okoeguale.

Head coach Ryan Hopkins talked about the back-to-back goals and their significance in the game.

“One of our key performance indicators, it’s critical moment goals,” Hopkins said. “We really believe that five minutes into a game, five minutes at the end of the half, and five minutes on either side of scoring a goal is critical to games and that’s where you can really steal momentum.”

The last goal of the night was made by Matei at the 78-minute mark, securing the win for the Aztecs, 5-2. The Aztecs attempted 15 shots, had six corner kicks and senior goalkeeper Djibril Doumbia had three saves.

Even with the Aztecs winning, the whole match against the Highlanders was competitive. The Aztecs ended up with 12 fouls and two yellow cards while the Highlanders fouled 10 times and earned a yellow card.

With the Aztecs moving conferences from the Pac-12 to the WAC, Hopkins talked about how the non-conference games are a taste of what is expected to come once conference play starts.

“We’ve scheduled a really challenging non-conference slate to continue to test ourselves and continue to grow,” Hopkins said. “We know WAC is going to present a lot of challenges and these games will harden us, prepare us and make us ready for those challenges ahead.”

Aztecs will stay local for their away game as they will visit the University of San Diego to face off against the Toreros on Monday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m.

“It’s another big game and we just approach it like we did this one, continue to stick to our principles and trust each other,” Hopkins said.

About the Contributors

Abigail Segoviano, '24-25 Mundo Azteca Editor

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.

Olivia Vargo, '24-25 Photo Editor

Olivia Vargo (she/her/hers) is a first-year Television, Film, and New Media production major from Camas, WA. She loves photography and is excited to see what her future at SDSU holds. She was the team photographer for her local equestrian team all four years of high school and the photographer/student manager for her school’s varsity baseball team in the spring of her senior year. She loves music, art, animals, baseball (specifically the Dodgers), and California’s sunny weather. As a first-year Olivia hopes to gain lots of experiences with the Daily Aztec and explore what they have to offer.