After four years of brilliant defensive work at the backline for head coach Mike Friesen’s women’s soccer team, senior defender Grace Goins played her final game at the SDSU Sports Deck on Oct. 30. 

The 5-foot-9-inch defender from El Dorado Hills has accomplished plenty here at San Diego State. But in the recent game against New Mexico, she accomplished what few before her did: starting all 80 games in her career.

The pre-game festivities on Senior Night put the spotlight on her as the only fourth-year player on this young squad. Knowing this is the last time she’ll put on the scarlet and black uniform at the Mesa, Goins felt a wide array of emotions that she had leading up to kickoff.

“I think there [are] a lot of emotions around [Senior Night], both sad and happy,” Goins said. “But I also can’t wait to see what this team will do without us and I’m really excited for the future.”

Hailing from Northern California, Goins had to adjust to the college game right away. Friesen’s belief in Goins is what gave her the motivation she needed to succeed and grow as a player.

“I think it gave me a lot of confidence and a lot of trust [and] respect from a lot of the players,” Goins said. “Even though the first week I was here, I was playing like trash, but he still gave me that opportunity. I’m really grateful.”

Goins and Friesen remember her first few weeks at SDSU quite clearly. She faced plenty of challenges and adversity that were a key part of her development into the star she is now.

“She came in exceptionally nervous, couldn’t pass the ball, couldn’t do it like a lot of freshmen do,” Friesen said. “We went to Arizona [in 2022] for our first exhibition, and she did not play the first 60 minutes of that game … and she’s not left the field since then.”

Since getting subbed into that 2-1 win against Arizona, Goins has not given up her starting role in the defensive backfield. 

With the Oct. 30 start against New Mexico, Goins has officially started every single game in her four years at SDSU. She has only missed 12 minutes out of a possible 7,240, with a substitution against CSU Bakersfield this past August being the only time in her career she didn’t play the full 90 minutes.

Alongside that impressive feat, Goins has also earned several awards on and off the pitch. She achieved the honor of making the Mountain West (MW) All-Newcomers team in 2022, the MW All-Academic team in 2023 and 2024, and the MW Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 22.

Despite her accolades, Goins’ favorite memory is the team’s 2023 Mountain West regular-season title win. It was an added bonus for her to share the field with one of her closest friends, 2023 first-team All-MW defender Kiera Utush.

“Winning the conference [in 2023] was probably one of my top memories, especially with that team,” Goins said. “And just getting to play with [Utush] was probably one of my favorite parts of playing here.”

Utush and Goins shared great chemistry that helped the Aztecs clinch that title with a 14-3-3 record. With Utush departing at the end of the 2023 season, it was up to Goins to lead the next wave of Aztecs.

“I’ve taken a lot of time to work on myself with leadership because I had to take a big role in this team,” Goins said. “I’ve also trained a lot on my own to make sure that when I come on, I am leading by example as well, not just with my voice.”

Coach Friesen has also noticed the leap Goins has made as a leader since she stepped foot on campus as a nervous freshman, now the voice of this hungry Aztecs squad.

“I feel like she has that strong, determined personality that has helped lead the younger players because she’s been through almost every scenario throughout her four years,” Friesen said. “She’s also really engaging with everybody on the team, and I think when you have a player that treats you as an equal off the field, I think that really impacts the team [positively].”

With the final regular season game in the books, the team now heads to Boise for the Mountain West tournament. As their illustrious connection nears the end, Friesen and Goins know the defense will be important in determining whether they make a deep run or go home early.