San Diego, California - SDSU Men's Soccer Plays at Oregon State & Washington This Week, Aztecs looking to make up ground in Pac-12 standings:

San Diego State (6-6-1, 1-4-0) at Oregon State (8-4-3, 4-2-1)

Thursday, Oct. 25 | 3:00 p.m. PT | Paul Lorenz Field | Corvallis, Ore.

 

San Diego State (6-6-1, 1-5-0) at Washington (8-7-0, 3-4-0)

Sunday Oct. 28 | 4:00 p.m. PT | Husky Soccer Stadium | Seattle, Wash.

 

Last Time Out

The Aztecs won 2-0 at San Diego last Friday before a crowd of 1,391 fans. The Aztecs jumped out to a quick lead behind a fourth minute goal from Damian German. SDSU outshot the Toreros 11-2 in the first half and then added an insurance goal in the 86th on a Pablo Pelaez penalty kick.

Aztec Storylines

Pablo Pelaez, the Aztecs’ leader in goals (6) and points (15), is third in the Pac-12 in points per game (1.25) and tied for third in points (15) and goals per game (0.50).

The Aztecs have held all five of their Pac-12 opponents to 10 shots or less.

Damian German had seven shots (four on goal) in last Friday’s game at San Diego, the most in a match by an Aztec this season. His 26 shots on the year lead the team. German also has three game-winning goals, tied for the most in the Pac-12.

Max Watkin, who took over as the Aztecs’ starting goalkeeper four matches ago, has already recorded two shutouts. He has a goals allowed average of 0.94.

DJ Villegas made his first start of the season last Friday at USD and played a season-high 77 minutes.

The Pac-12 currently has four of their six teams ranked in top 40 in RPI. Stanford has the best RPI at No. 13 and is followed by UCLA (No. 18), Oregon State (No. 30) and Washington (No. 40). The Aztecs are fifth in the conference with an RPI rank of No. 67. The latest projection from Top Drawer Soccer has three Pac-12 schools making the NCAA Tournament, after having four last week.

Through 13 matches, the Aztecs have allowed just two first half goals. However, they have given up 13 in the second half.

Two is the magic number for the Aztecs. They are 5-0-0 when they score two or more goals and 0-5-0 when they allow two or more goals.

The Aztecs won the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Aztec Soccer Classic earlier this season, the fifth time winning the tournament (2009, ’11, ’14, ’16 & ‘18). Pablo Pelaez was named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player and Keegan Kelly, Aleks Berkolds, Emil Kjellker and Miles Stray were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Opponent Notebook

Oregon State

The Beavers are 8-4-3 on the year and 4-2-1 in the Pac-12... They are ranked No. 30 in the latest RPI release and projected to make the NCA Tournament by Top Drawer Soccer... They are 3-0-1 in their last four matches... OSU is 6-1-2 on the year at home... Sofiane Djeffal leads the conference with six assists... Don Tchillao leads the team with 15 points, while Gloire Amanda has a team-high seven goals... Goalkeeper Adrian Fernandez has a goals allowed average of 1.03... Head Coach Terry Boss is in his first season as the Beavers’ head coach after spending the last four years as the Associate Head Coach at the University of Virginia. He was OSU’s lead assistant in 2013... The Aztecs are 11-16-3 all-time against the Beavers and beat them 1-0 at home on October 4th.

Washington

The Huskies are 8-7-0 on the year and 3-4-0 in Pac-12 play... They have a RPI rank of No. 40 and are receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll... UW is first in the conference in corner kicks per game (6.0) and shots per game (14.5)... Scott Menzies leads the team with seven goals and 14 points... Goalkeeper Saif Kerwala gas a goals allowed average of 1.10...  Head Coach Jamie Clark (7th year) is 95-42-19 at UW and 134-57-22 overall... The Aztecs are 6-18-8 all-time against the Huskies. They fell to UW 1-2 at home on October 7th.