It was an up-and-down weekend for the San Diego State men’s soccer team.
After beating Oregon State on Friday afternoon 3-0, the Aztecs entered Sunday’s match against the University of Washington looking for revenge for a loss suffered against the Huskies earlier in Pacific-12 Conference play.
SDSU did not get its revenge.
No. 19 University of Washington (11-4-2, 6-3 MW), led by Jacob Hustedt’s two goals, defeated the No. 20 Aztecs 3-0 at the SDSU Sports Deck.
The loss drops SDSU to 10-4-2 overall and 4-3 in conference, as well as into third place in the Pac-12 behind UCLA and Washington.
“We just need to get our confidence back,” redshirt junior midfielder Chance Marden said. “We just need to start working harder. They outworked us the whole game, so we just need to pick it up.”
Despite attempting corner kicks, 5-2, the Aztecs were unable to find a rhythm on the offensive side of the field, managing only six shots compared to Washington’s 17.
Redshirt senior midfielder and co-captain Pedro Adan led SDSU with two shots, while midfielder Jose Altamirano, forward Miles Byass, midfielder Abraham Villon and defender Casey Meuser each had one attempt apiece.
“I think (the Huskies) just stayed patient (on defense),” redshirt sophomore midfielder Morgan Sacco said. “A lot of our game is playing through the midfield; that is usually where our strong point is. I think they shut us down through there the most and made us tired. They didn’t let anyone in the midfield have a free ball and just outworked us in both the halves.”
With three games left in Pac-12 Conference play, the Aztecs will look to finish the season strong in order to help increase their chances of advancing to the postseason. SDSU will travel to the Bay Area to take on Stanford and California next, before finishing the season at home in a highly anticipated matchup against UCLA.
“We need to figure out what exactly it’s going to take to get these last three wins,” Sacco said. “Obviously, this (game) doesn’t help our chances to make it to postseason. We are going to need to do everything in our power to get these last games. These are must-win games.”
