After starting the 2025 season 4-2-2 in non-conference play, the San Diego State women’s soccer team is ready for its last season of Mountain West play.
Finishing fourth in the conference (6-2-3) in 2024 and first (9-1-1) in 2023, the Aztecs have set a standard for yet another season of competing for a conference title on the Mesa.
A strong slate of non-conference opponents has equipped the young Aztecs squad for a competitive season with their in-conference counterparts.
Despite a roster mostly composed of freshmen and sophomores, a challenging start to the season has helped this inexperienced SDSU team adapt to the college level. Games against No. 2 Stanford and No. 25 Texas Tech right out of the gate, amongst other tough matchups, brought the Aztecs up to the level required for conference play.
In the five matches following Stanford, the Scarlet and Black went 3-0-2, putting up clean sheets in four of those matches.
“We try and schedule our non-conference games to give us a lot of different looks, and playing teams that are going to challenge us in a lot of different ways,” said head coach Mike Friesen. “So, we are prepared for almost anything.”
The team’s growth to start the season is the driving force behind their confidence, despite the overall lack of experience, that they are equipped to compete in the Mountain West.
“I think we’re really prepared for whatever’s gonna get thrown at us,” said defender Grace Goins, the only senior on the team. “We’re a young team, a really driven team, so I’m really excited to see what we can do this year.”
Freshman goalkeeper Kailey Carlen emphasized the same message that the team’s development early in the season has prepared them for another year of contention in the Mountain West.
In her first collegiate season, Carlen is assuming the duties of starting goalkeeper for the Aztecs. Stepping into a high-pressure position as a true freshman has quickly adjusted her to collegiate-level soccer.
“Of course, in the beginning, it was never easy coming into this environment, but with the support of my teammates, coaches, and just everyone around me has really boosted my morale,” Carlen said. “Overall, as a team, we’ve been bonding really, really well.”
Both Goins and Carlen have been key contributors to a lockdown Aztecs defense, which is the true backbone of the team. This week, Goins won the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week award, while Carlen took home Mountain West Freshman of the Week honors.
Both players attributed their success on the backend to a collective effort from the team. There is an overall connectivity between the 11 players on the pitch that makes the Aztecs’ defensive unit so effective.
“What’s been working really well together is just that trust in building it and then showing up moment after moment,” Carlen said. “Overall, as a unit, for me, the defense, we’ve been really good working off each other.”
Friesen views SDSU’s defensive success the same way the players do, as a team contribution.
“It’s a team effort, and just how we defend as an entire group, and their commitment to getting clean sheets and limiting the amount of chances we give away, is one of the best teams I’ve had,” he said.
On the offensive end, Friesen would like to see more assertiveness from his team to help them collect more wins, but is confident that it can happen.
“I think that the challenge for us is gonna be, can we make sure that we get three points instead of one in games where we’re in control?” Friesen said. “Can we put ourselves in situations to score goals, to really take care of the game early and not leave it too late? We got to find ways to be urgent in front of the goal and make sure we’re composed as well.”
Relying on one another and playing as a woven unit has raised this young and fiery SDSU team’s confidence sky high. Starting with its lockdown defense and rounding out with an increasingly dangerous young core, there is no doubt that the Aztecs are primed to be in the mix for their last go at a Mountain West championship.
Starting from individual success and using that to be a part of something bigger defines both Goins’ and Carlen’s aspirations for the remainder of the 2025 season.
“I want to be the best keeper in this conference,” Carlen said. “Doing all that I can to put myself on the line to make sure that we win those games.”
“Individually, I just want to help the team win a championship,” Goins said. “I think that would probably be the best way to end my senior year, but I also want to play in the NCAA tournament. So, I’d say having those in mind and then just being the best version of myself for the team is another goal that I have in mind.”
