San Diego State women’s soccer lost to California by a score of 2-0 on Sept. 1 at the SDSU Sports Deck.
While neither side was able to find the back of the net in the first half, California outshot the Aztecs 13-2.
Only two of the Golden Bears’ 13 shots were on target, but the Aztecs (1-3) were fortunate to head to the locker room without a shot on goal and the score still level.
SDSU looked to maintain a shutout defensively, but a goal from California sophomore midfielder Paige Metayer in the 55th minute opened the Golden Bears’ scoring account.
California junior forward Emma Westin added another goal in the 81st minute off a shot that resulted from a give-and-go turnover. The result gave the Golden Bears (3-0) their best start to a season since 2014.
Aztecs midfielder Chloe Frisch said she felt the team did a good job in executing their overall game plan.
“We did a really good job of closing the middle and not creating any passing lanes for them, so that they had to go out wide,” Frisch said. “When they went out wide we used that as an opportunity to keep them in a corner and try to not let them cross.”
Head coach Mike Friesen said he’s happy with his team’s defensive effort and the experience they gained against a Pac-12 school.
“I just told them, if effort, work rate and grit were some sort of currency that we were putting into our bank account, our bank account is building,” Friesen said.
Offensively, the Aztecs were unable to find the back of the net for the second straight game.
SDSU sophomore forward Malia Kaleiohi said the Aztecs prepared for California’s speed, which resulted in more conservative gameplay from the offense.
“I think we had a little bit of a defensive standpoint today just because we knew that they were fast, so they got behind really easily,” Kaleiohi said.
Friesen echoed those sentiments and said the Aztecs fed off what they were preventing the Golden Bears from doing.
“One thing we tried to do is conserve a little bit, take away some of the things they were trying to do and create some counter attacking possibilities,” Friesen said.
Aside from the loss, this game marked SDSU senior goalkeeper Brooke Lisowski’s first face-off against her former squad.
Lisowski was a backup goalkeeper for four years at California, a career which only saw her play in four career games including one start for the Golden Bears.
“I’ve been waiting for this game pretty much ever since I committed to go here for grad school,” Lisowski said. “It was just a fun atmosphere out there.”
The Aztecs’ next competition will be on the road against the University of Miami on Sept. 7.
