The 2003 San Diego State men’s soccer season came to a conclusionFriday after it fell 2-1 to Nor-Cal nemesis San Jose State in theMountain Pacific Sports Federation Conference Tournament.
In the semifinal match, SDSU found itself down 2-0 in the secondhalf until sophomore midfielder Raul Bautista cut the Aztecs’ deficitin half with his second goal of the tournament. Bautista’s strikecame just two minutes after the Spartans posted what eventuallybecame the game winner.
In the 55th minute of play, junior defender Kenny Fechner recordedhis team-high 10th assist of the season. Fechner sent a cross infront of the goal to Bautista, who made the most of his opportunityby placing the ball in the back of the net off a header.
Unfortunately for SDSU, it was unable to capitalize on any of itssuccessive scoring chances, and as a result was forced to witnesswhat it feels was a premature finale to its 2003 campaign.
“I couldn’t be any prouder of the team, head coach Lev Kirshnersaid. “I’m real proud of our season, we had a great year, but ofcourse it’s a little disappointing that it ended the way it did.”
A critical factor in the Aztecs’ defeat was the fact that theyplayed five games over an intense and grueling 10-day stretch priorto the tournament.
“They were fresh, so they were able to out-battle and outfight usin the first half,” senior goalkeeper Colin Hanke said. “We weretired, beat-up and hurt, but we came back strong and dominated thegame in the second half.”
In their first contest of the tournament, the Aztecs faced offagainst host Sacramento State. The Red and Black earned itsfirst-ever postseason MPSF victor, and advanced to the second roundby defeating CSU Sacramento 3-1. In doing so, SDSU avenged a previousregular season draw with the Hornets.
“We wanted to get that one back,” senior defender Ryan Curtissaid. “We were fired up and ready to go, everything was on thatnight.”
The Aztecs lit up the scoreboard just three minutes into the matchon the first of senior forward Kevin Sapanli’s two goals.
“I stole the ball at midfield and just charged toward the net,”Sapanli said. “Somehow I was able to beat the last defender and Ijust sent the ball into the near post for the goal.”
SDSU took a 2-1 lead into the second half thanks to Bautista’sfirst goal of the tournament. The score came off an assist fromjunior forward turned defender, Eric Wohl.
Sapanli bought the Aztecs an insurance policy seven minutes intothe second frame, when he recorded his second goal of the game.Sapanli chipped the ball over a charging Sacramento goalkeeper fromsix yards out to put SDSU up 3-1 and ultimately secure its trip tothe semifinal round.
Despite its perceived early exit, SDSU better than doubled its wintotal from last year and holds an optimistic view toward futuresuccess for the program.
“I think this tournament was a really good experience for theyounger players,” Sapanli said. “Now they have an idea of what thepostseason is all about, and that will only benefit them and the teamin the future.”
