Aztecs Open Season at UCLA Saturday

Notes (PDF) | Audio Broadcast (UCLA) | Live Stats

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San Diego State (0-0-0) at UCLA (1-1-0)
Saturday, Feb. 20 | 6 p.m. PT | Wallis Anneberg Stadium | Los Angeles, Calif.
Media Coverage: Live Audio (UCLA Broadcast) | Live Stats

Aztec Storylines
•      The Aztecs will kick off their 2020-21 season Saturday evening at UCLA (1-1-0) at 6 p.m. Their will not be a stream available for this match, however fans can tune in to an audio-only UCLA broadcast.
•      This is an extension of the fall 2020 season which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
•      This will be the Aztecs' first match since November 16, 2019, a span of 463 days.
•      SDSU's first match against Dixie State (Feb. 11) was canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the Trailblazer program. The match will not be made up.
•      Ryan Hopkins will be making his head coaching debut Saturday evening. Just the fourth head coach in program history, Hopkins comes to SDSU from Virginia (2018-19) whereas an assistant he helped lead the Cavaliers to the 2019 NCAA Championship match. Hopkins has also made stops as an assistant at Denver (2013-17), Wisconsin (2012), Cal Poly (2009-11) and Concordia (2004-08), his alma mater.
•      Hopkins was listed as one of the Top 12 Assistant Coaches by College Soccer News in three of the last four years and was named the 2015 NSCAA West Region Assistant Coach of the Year.
•      San Diego State returns 13 players, 10 letterwinners and four starters from last year's team.
•      The Aztecs return their top goal scorer in Hunter George, who led SDU with five goals and was named to the 2019 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection.
•      SDSU also returns Tevenn Roux, the lone senior on the roster, who tied for second on the team (with George) with 10 points and led the team with four assists.
•      Other experienced returners include Laukoa Santos, Tristan Weber and Arturo Chavez.
•      The Aztecs have 13 newcomers (all freshmen), and their recruiting class has been ranked in the top 10 nationally by Top Drawer Soccer.
•      Andre Ochoa (Anaheim, Calif.) was named to Top Drawer Soccer's Freshman Best XI last week. Ochoa was one of just four freshmen midfielders in the nation chosen and the only Pac-12 freshman to be named to the Best XI.
•      The Aztecs posted a 3.26 team GPA in the 2020 fall semester, best among SDSU's men's programs.
 
Opponent Notebook (UCLA)
The Bruins are 1-1-0 on the season… Last week they beat San Francisco 3-0 before falling 1-0 at No. 15 Loyola Marymount… UCLA returns nine starters from last year's team (6-9-3) and has three players that were named to Top Drawer Soccer's Top-100 Player Rankings: Eric Iloski (No. 75), Riley Ferch (No. 84) and Ahmed Longmire (No. 90)… With three players in the rankings, UCLA had the second-most of all Pac-12 teams, trailing only Cal (4)… Iloski (Escondido, Calif.) was drafted in the second round (No. 46 overall) of the 2021 MLS SuperDraft by Vancouver Whitecaps FC, who he will join after this season… The Aztecs are 7-44-13 all-time against UCLA and 4-19-7 since joining the Pac-12 in 2005… Head coach Ryan Jorden is in his second season at UCLA. He was most recently at Pacific where he re-started a dormant program in 2013 and turned the Tigers into perennial national contenders.