The No. 15 San Diego State women’s soccer team entered its game against defending national champion and current No. 3 Stanford on Friday still undefeated and hungry to add to its win total.
Having only conceded one goal thus far this season, the Aztecs entered the game in Santa Clara as confident as ever, despite playing one of the top teams in the nation. The Cardinals came out aggressive and set the tone in the first half, while the Aztecs seemed to start the game slowly.
Stanford received a favorable call in the 30th minute when the referee called a questionable handball right outside the 18-yard box. The call resulted in a free kick for Stanford junior forward Courtney Verloo. She slipped the shot by Aztec sophomore goalkeeper Rachael Boaz to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead going into halftime.
The Aztecs came out of halftime with more intensity, recording more shots than the Cardinals, but none of the shots found the back of the net. Sophomore forward Haley Locker had a one-on-one opportunity with a Stanford defender, but she wasn’t able to win the contest.
Sophomore forward Hannah Keane also had a great opportunity when her shot appeared to be in the goal, but missed. The Aztecs continued to fire shots and test Stanford junior goalkeeper Aly Gleason, but to no avail. SDSU sought a penalty kick late in the game when freshman midfielder Victoria Barba was taken down in the box, but the referees did not signal the foul.
Both goalkeepers made key saves to keep the game close. Boaz tallied eight saves in the game to keep the Aztecs within striking distance of the Cardinals, but the Aztecs’ offense could not pull through.
The 1-0 loss was SDSU’s first of the season. Stellar goalkeeping and tough defending have been the catalysts behind the Aztecs’ success through the first part of the season.
Senior forward Megan Jurado and Locker each finished with two shots on the goal as the Aztecs finished the game with nine shots, five of which were on goal.
SDSU followed the heartbreaking loss to Stanford by playing Santa Clara. Junior midfielder Carli Johnson gave the Aztecs a 1-0 lead in the 34th minute off a cross from Jurado. It the 69th minute, Boaz left the game with an injury and was replaced by redshirt senior goalkeeper Megan Allaire. In the 88th minute, Santa Clara took advantage of Boaz’s absence, knocking one in to even the score, which sent the game into overtime. The game would finish in a 1- 1 overtime draw. Johnson and redshirt senior midfielder Tiffany Hurst were named to the 2012 Santa Clara All-Classic Team.
The Aztecs’ next home game will be at 5 p.m. this Friday at the SDSU Sports Deck against University of California, Irvine.
