Coming off a disappointing weekend in Michigan, the San Diego State women’s soccer team played desperately, looking to get back in the win column at home.
On Sunday Sept. 8, after 36 shot attempts, the Lady Aztecs still couldn’t buy a win. Nor did they get on the scoreboard after a double-overtime match against the University of Houston resulting in a 0-0 draw.
SDSU created its scoring opportunities with some open breakaways, but was called back because it was offsides, which head coach Mike Friesen didn’t necessarily agree with.
[quote]“I’m not sure on the record books, but I’m pretty sure that was the most shots we ever had in a game,” Friesen said after the game. “I thought we created some great scoring chances, we scored multiple goals, but unfortunately those were called back and felt like we got the short end of the stick there.”[/quote]
The Aztecs had outshot the Cougars 36-6, with 17 shots on goal, but were called offsides 10 times in the double-overtime contest. Houston senior goalkeeper Cami Koski who played all 110 minutes had a game high of 17 saves.
Senior defender Haley Palmer attempted eight shots and led the Aztecs with five shots on goal. Palmer expressed her frustration after the game, but remained resilient to keep moving forward after not getting the desired results.
[quote]“It’s pretty frustrating; it’s annoying that we can’t get a result we want, but we need to learn from this and remember we had 36 shots,” Palmer said. “We need to just keep going at it like we were and eventually they (shots) will start going in.”[/quote]
After five games, the Aztecs have yet to score multiple goals in a single game this season. This game also marked SDSU’s second draw in its last three games.
With not much time to think about their performance, the Aztecs will look forward to playing at the University of California, Los Angeles today in a rematch against the Bruins, who ended the Aztecs’ season last year in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. With last year’s game against UCLA fresh on her mind, Palmer explained her excitement about facing the Bruins once again.
[quote] “It’s going to be a revenge match because last year they were the ones who knocked us out of the NCAA Tournament,” Palmer said. “We are definitely coming out for blood next week, it’s a good opportunity for us to show the country that we are a scrappy team and we are here to fight the rest of the season.” [/quote]
