Senior night is a significant milestone for any student athlete, representing the end of an era and the turning of a page. For seven seniors, Friday’s game against the University of New Mexico marked the last regular season game of their San Diego State women’s soccer careers. And thanks to a second-half goal by sopho- more midfielder Kelsey Booth, the Aztecs earned the 1-0 victory and finished undefeated in conference play.
The game started in close contention, as New Mexico quickly capitalized on a few missed passes by the Aztecs’ midfield and controlled the ball in SDSU territory. The reliable defensive unit led by senior defender Rachael McGlinchy and senior midfielder Tiffany Hurst kept the Lobos in check and stopped them from taking a shot on goal for the first 10 minutes of play.
“We’ve never been as confident as we are right now,” McGlinchy said. “We’ve been down in a few of our last games and I don’t think anyone on the team thought we were going to lose. It’s just that year.”
As the half progressed, confidence rose. A crafty steal by senior forward Megan Jurado left New Mexico out of position and gave the Aztecs their best shot opportunity of the first half. Unfortunately for Jurado, the Lobos defensive line quickly recovered and deflected the shot.
Later, junior defender Haley Palmer found herself sneaking past the Lobos defensive backline in the 25th minute. In an act of desperation by the beaten New Mexico defender, Palmer was fouled outside the box. This set up a free kick in which the Aztecs elected to use some clever misdirection in an attempt to pass the ball to an incoming Jurado instead of taking a direct shot at goal. The pass almost gave the Aztecs a wide- open shot on goal, but the persistent Lobos defense deflected the ball and regained possession.
At the end of the first half, SDSU found itself down in the shot count 5-4.
In the second half, the Aztec offense got on a roll. A pass by Jurado in the 48th minute set up Booth for a shot just outside the box. The shot was immediately deflected, but still carried enough momentum to
find its way into the corner of the net. This goal became the game-winner and marks Booth’s second goal of the season.
The game ended with SDSU outshooting New Mexico 12-7 and a final score of 1-0.
This win gives sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Boaz and the Aztec defense another shutout, giving them 10 on the season.
The seven seniors honored in Friday’s game were Jurado, Hurst, McGlinchy, goalkeeper Megan
Allaire and midfielders Kim Carcich, Sarah Halverson and Marisa Fraticelli.
“The impact they have had on the field has been phenomenal, but the impact that is beyond that is probably bigger. It’s the impact they’ve had on the team and the culture of the team, the camaraderie and the leadership,” SDSU head coach Mike Friesen said. “Everybody else coming to look at our program recognizes that there’s something special here with how we interact with each other, how much fun we have and how hard we work. They’ve set a standard.”
The team will continue the season at7p.m.onFridayastheNo.1 seed of the 2012 Mountain West Conference Tournament. Because SDSU is serving as the host of the tournament, all games will be played at the SDSU Sports Deck.
