Sept. 28, 2017
SDSU Men’s Soccer Tripped Up by Stanford
Aztecs continue Pac-12 play Sunday at noon against Cal
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SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men’s soccer team ran into two-time defending national champion Stanford in a 5-0 setback at the SDSU Sports Deck on Thursday night to open Pac-12 play. The Aztecs now sit at 4-5-0 on the season after the conference-opening loss.
“They capitalized on our mistakes,” said head coach Lev Kirshner. “The game was pretty good and balance was fine, we just made some mistakes and with them being the national champions they made us pay for it.”
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The Aztecs played a near-even first half with the Cardinal, as the two teams went into the halftime break with four shots each. Each team also recorded a pair of shots on goal within the first 45 minutes, however, the difference in the first half was Stanford’s 19th minute tally that provided the Cardinal with a 1-0 lead at halftime.
“We were picking up loose balls, we were reading their patterns, and moving the ball well,” stated Kirshner about the first-half performance. “We were just playing well and we just fell apart in the second half.”
The Cardinal showed its offensive muscle in the second half, posting four goals on 13 shots.
Although held scoreless in the match, the Aztecs did present some threatening attacks in the second half. In the 56th minute, Dallin Cutler ripped a shot towards the top right corner of the net from 25-yards out, but was ultimately denied by Stanford goalkeeper Nico Corti on a full-extension save. Cutler had another opportunity just nine minutes later, as a shot from the redshirt senior was on its way to finding the back of the net, but a Cardinal defender made a last-chance sliding save just inches from the goal line and eventually cleared the ball out of SDSU’s offensive third.
Jeroen Meefout had an opportunity to add to his team-leading four goals on the year on a breakaway in the 59th minute, but another strong defensive effort from the Cardinal halted any opportunity for the Netherlands native. Five of SDSU’s shots were on target in the match and Cutler led all players in the match with three shots on goal.
The Aztecs look to rebound this Sunday, hosting Pac-12 foe California at the SDSU Sports Deck at noon.
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