Women's Soccer Wins MWC Tournament
SDSU beat No. 8 BYU and earned its first NCAA berth since 1999.
San Diego State captured its first-ever Mountain West Conference women’s soccer tournament championship on Nov. 7 with a 1-0 win over eighth-ranked, top-seeded and tourney host BYU. With its seventh-consecutive win, the second-seeded Aztecs (14-3-5) earned the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, their first since 1999 and just their third in school history.
“Obviously it was a huge, huge win,” said San Diego State head coach Mike Friesen. “It’s great to not have to wait around to see if we’re getting in the NCAAs. We’re super excited now, and in the future, to see where this program is headed.”
In the first half, both teams traded scoring opportunities beginning with the Cougars’ chance in the 22nd minute. Later in the half, the Aztecs sent a ball into the box, which was headed out by a BYU player. The clearing attempt, however, went straight to MWC Offensive Player of the Year Cat Walker, who deposited a perfectly placed shot into the net.
With the Aztecs ahead by one goal, BYU went on the offensive and had three quality chances the rest of the first half, but were denied each time by the stellar SDSU defensive unit.
Aztecs would not break
Coming out of the halftime break, the Cougars continued to put pressure on San Diego State, but the Aztecs would not break, winning the game with the single goal scored in the first half. San Diego State held the Cougars (17-3-2) scoreless for just the third time this season and for the first time since Sept. 4.
The loss was Brigham Young’s first since Sept. 10 and it snapped the Cougars’ 15-game unbeaten streak.
First Provo victory in 11 years
For San Diego State, the victory was its first in Provo in exactly 11 years. The Aztecs were 0-5-2 in their last seven contests at BYU and were last victorious against the Cougars on the road on Nov. 7, 1998 (ot-W, 2-1). The win also breaks a three-game winless streak against BYU, a team in which it tied earlier this season in San Diego, 2-2.
At the conclusion of the game, San Diego State landed four players on the all-tournament team, including tournament most valuable player Cat Walker. Joining Walker on the 11-person all-tournament squad were Fernandes, DeJesus and Southwick. By earning MVP honors, Walker becomes the second Aztec to win the award and first since Sophia Perez in 2004. The four all-tournament team honorees are also the most since 2004 when that squad had four.
SDSU plays USD in first round of NCAA Tournament
SDSU, which earned trips to the NCAA Tournament in 1998 and 1999, will play University of San Diego in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 13, at University of California Los Angeles, the first-round host. This will be first time since 2006 that the two teams have squared off. SDSU owns the all-time series lead, 6-4-1.
The winner of the SDSU-USD match will take on the winner of top-seeded UCLA (17-2-1) and Boise State (13-6-4) match on Sunday, Nov. 15, in a second-round game scheduled for 1 p.m.
