ByCarlos ManzanilloStaff Writer
There is no place like home. The SDSU women’s soccer team knowshow Dorothy must have felt. Although Laramie, Colorado Springs andAlbuquerque may not be infested with munchkins, flying monkeys or theWicked Witch of the West, they must have seemed just as inhospitable.
Picked in the preseason to finish third and compete for theconference championship, the Aztecs have struggled thus far inconference. They had a promising start, battling league favoritesUtah and BYU tough at home and earning a split.
But because of this year’s schedule, the Aztecs have had to playtheir remaining conference games away from home. That has spelledtrouble for SDSU that has had its troubles thus far on the road. TheAztecs are 0-2-1 in their last three road games.
But the shocking part is that they have been outscored seven toone in those games, including a pair of demoralizing 3-0 defeats atAir Force and New Mexico. Even more disturbing is that the Aztecshave traditionally dominated those opponents. SDSU was a combined11-1-1 all-time against Air Force, Wyoming and New Mexico.
The good news is that the Aztecs have as good a shot as any to winthe Mountain West Conference Tournament. Their record is notindicative of the way they have played throughout the year. SDSU hasplayed everybody tough and has shown that it can play with anybody.
“Everybody has an equal chance to win
it. If we come together like we did against Utah, anything canhappen,” said sophomore forward Kim Castellanos.
Up next
The loss to the Lobos dropped SDSU into sixth place in theconference with one game remaining. This Saturday’s game against UNLV(9-5-2) will be its final tune-up before the conference tournamentnext week.
A win on Saturday is crucial for both teams, because the game hasmajor implications in the seeding of the conference tourney. UNLV islocked in a struggle with Utah and BYU for the top two seeds in thetournament. Meanwhile, SDSU is looking to improve its tournament seedwith a win.
Quotable
“Its a brand new season. You get there and everybody is 0-0,anything can happen on a given day,” said assistant coach Jill Youngon winning the MWC Tournament.
No goals
One of the biggest problems for SDSU has been its lack ofoffensive production. It has been shut out in its last two games andhas scored just one goal in the past three games.
The Aztecs rank just fifth in their conference in goals scored andtheir 1.31 goals per game average is almost a goal and a half lessthan league-leading Utah at 2.71 GPG.
Despite its lack of recent production, SDSU still showcases theconference’s most potent scorer in Castellanos. There has been
no sophomore slump for the former MWC Freshman of the Year. Sheleads the conference with 10 goals and is tied for second in pointsscored.
What the Aztecs lack is a second consistent goal scorer tocomplement Castellanos. The next-highest goal scorer is defender FayDe Leon with three goals and only one other active player has morethan one.
“We need our wide midfield players to get more involved,” Youngsaid.
