(2)SAN DIEGO STATE (13-3-5; 5-0-2 MWC) at #8 (1)BYU (17-2-2; 6-0-1 MWC)
MWC Championship Final South Soccer Stadium Provo, Utah
Saturday, Oct. 7 Noon MT/11 a.m. PT The Mtn. (tape delay)
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The top-seeded Cougars improved to 17-2-2 with their semifinal win over New Mexico ... BYU has won seven straight contests ... The Cougars had won seven straight before encountering San Diego State, which turned out to be a 2-2 tie ... Brigham Young's last loss came on the road at Washington State, 2-1, back on Sept. 10 ... BYU is nationally ranked in all major top-25 polls, including Soccer America, which has them at No. 8 ... The Cougars are led offensively by Carlee Payne, who leads the team with 36 points (13 g, 10 a) ... Kassidy C. Shumway is second on the team in points with 18 (7 g, 4a) ... McKinzie Olson has 11 shutouts and has a GAA of 0.51 ... Andrea Willis earned league defensive-player-of-the-year honors, while Carlee Payne was named the conference's top freshman ... Willis, Payne, Shumway and Olson were all first-teamers and Lindsi Lisonbee garnered second-team accolades.
San Diego State advanced to the championship game after rallying from a one-goal second-half deficit to beat Utah in double overtime, 2-1. SDSU received a goal from Cat Walker in the 83rd minute to tie the game and Sarah Halverson sent everyone home in the 108th minute. Niki Fernandes assisted on both goals, while Hayley Marsh was credited with a helper on the game-winner after providing the outlet pass to Fernandes.
The two teams meet for the 2nd time this year and the 22nd time overall. BYU leads the all-time series 9-8-4 all time vs. the Aztecs... SDSU is 0-5-2 in its last seven against BYU in Provo... The Aztecs' last win over the Cougars in Provo occurred on Nov. 7, 1998 ... SDSU's last overall victory over BYU was in 2007, a 2-0 decision at San Diego State.
LAST MEETING: #13 BYU AT SDSU SAN DIEGO
San Diego State kept its unbeaten streak intact and pushed it to seven games as it earned a 2-2 double-overtime tie against 13th-ranked Brigham Young Thursday afternoon at SDSU Sports Deck. The Aztecs, who were playing their first Mountain West Conference game of the season, see their record move to 7-3-4 (0-0-1 MWC), while the Cougars leave Montezuma Mesa with a record of 10-2-2 (1-0-1 MWC).
The game started on a fast note as San Diego State struck first just over three minutes into the game. Tiffany Hurst continued her strong play of late and beat two defenders on the right side. After having the ball knocked away momentarily, Hurst touched the ball back to a breaking Allie Crowson, who deposited the ball in the upper right corner of the goal from approximately 16 yards out. For Hurst, it was her second assist in as many games and her fourth point in her last two outings. Crowson, meanwhile, notched her second goal of the season.
With the match just 3:09 old, both teams traded possessions throughout the first half and produced very few quality scoring chances. After the Crowson goal, BYU's top scoring opportunity came 51 seconds later when Kassidy C. Shumway blasted a ball toward SDSU goalkeeper Aubree Southwick, but it sailed high. On the flip side, the Aztecs' Niki Fernandes nearly gave San Diego State a two-goal lead in the 33rd minute when she blew by two defenders with a creative one-on-one move, but didn't have the angle she needed to get her shot past BYU goalie McKinzie Olson. With that said, the Aztecs went into the locker room ahead, 1-0.
In the second half, the Cougars became aggressive offensively and it paid off at 52:06 when SDSU mishandled an attempt to clear the ball after which put the ball in Jessica Ringwood's possession 13 yards out. Seconds later, Ringwood calmly tucked the ball into the right corner past a leaping Southwick to provide the tying goal.
BYU, who came into the game having won seven straight, continued its aggressive game plan and it netted the go-ahead goal in the 65th minute. Shumway scored off a header from eight yards out after consecutive passes from Lauren Anderson and Carlee Payne.
As time was running off the clock, San Diego State started to get its rhythm back in the final 10-15 minutes. In the 86th minute, the Aztecs' Millie Allen had her shot blocked, but Cat Walker gathered the rebound and blasted a shot of her own that went just high to end a frantic two-shot sequence. With the ball and momentum on San Diego State's side, the Aztecs took advantage of the opportunity in the 89th minute when Britney Bennett found Megan McQueeny. Bennett, who entered the game at the start of the second half, dribbled the ball on the far right side and sent a pass into the middle of the box that found McQueeny. The sophomore, from seven yards out, then put a shot on goal that went through traffic in front of the goal and found the back of the net to even the score at 2 apiece and essentially force overtime. The goal was McQueeny's first of the season and second of her career. In the final 24-plus minutes of regulation, San Diego State outshot the Cougars, 5-1.
In the first extra session, San Diego State continued to control the ball, but attempted just one shot. The Aztec defense, which has been solid all season, prevented BYU from taking a single shot as the match moved into another 10-minute stanza. Like the first OT, the second frame did not produce a goal as the game ended in a draw.
The match, which featured two of the top teams in the Pacific Region, was nearly equal in every statistical category. Brigham Young owned a slim lead in shots (15-14), shots on goal (5-4) and corner kicks (7-6), while San Diego State finished with three saves to the Cougars' two. The teams were even in fouls with 13 apiece.
With their two goals, the Aztecs became just the third team to score twice on BYU this year. Coming into the game, the Cougars had allowed just nine goals in their 13 games.
As previously stated, the tie extended San Diego State's unbeaten streak to seven games. It was the longest such streak since 1998 when that team went unbeaten and won 12 straight en route to the WAC championship and the third round of the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs also extended their unbeaten mark to four against BYU in games played on the SDSU campus and are 5-2-2 vs. the Cougars all time in San Diego.
