The San Diego State men’s soccer team (2-1-0) hosted Mercyhurst University (0-2-0), 2-1, on Thursday, Aug. 30 at the SDSU Sports Deck.
Right off the bat, the Aztecs set the tone by scoring a goal in the first minute by junior forward Austin Brummett. Unfortunately, the referees called offsides and the goal did not count.
At the three minute mark, freshman defender Ryan Mrvcic scored the first and only goal for the Lakers.
Throughout the match, the Aztecs didn’t give up as they attempted 10 shots while the Lakers only attempted three shots. By the end of the first half, the Aztecs were down 1-0, and head coach Ryan Hopkins mentioned what he talked to the team about.
“I spent about seven minutes telling them not to get a red card,” Hopkins said.
During the second half at the 50 minute mark, senior midfielder Daniel Pacella received a red card. The Aztecs were down a player for the remaining 40 minutes of the game.
With one man down, junior defender Tristan Viviani shared how he stayed motivated throughout the game.
“It was just the thought of how frustrating the last game was,” Viviani said. “We don’t want to lose twice in a row.”
At the 79 minute mark, Viviani scored the first goal for the Aztecs as it was last touched by the Lakers junior goalkeeper, Gonzalo Onrubia Delgado. With Viviani’s goal, it gave out an assist to junior defender Israel Carrillo and tied the game 1-1.
“I was just trying to put the ball in a dangerous area, and it ended up going in,” Viviani said. “After the goal, my immediate thought is ‘what’s next?’ because that’s just tying it. We want to win the game.”
The Aztecs continued to fight on as a foul was called on the Lakers, which gave the Aztecs the opportunity for a penalty kick. Senior forward Terence Okoeguale scored a goal for the Aztecs off the penalty kick to secure the lead, 2-1.
The Aztecs outshot the Lakers, and SDSU had 20 shots by the end of the match while the Lakers only had eight. The game itself was physical as the Aztecs totaled up to 16 fouls while the Lakers had 19.
Not only were fouls called, but yellow and red cards were given to players as well. The Aztecs had a total of three yellow cards plus the red card by Pacella. As for the Lakers, they had six yellow cards plus a red card.
The Aztecs will play the University of Vermont at the SDSU Sports Deck on Monday, Sept. 2 at 7 P.M.
“Get our scouting report ready (and) start looking at lineups,” Hopkins said. “Whether you win or lose is sometimes inconsequential. You just try and get better and stick to what you’re doing that has gotten you this far.”
