Aztecs Playing at No. 8 Washington Saturday

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San Diego State (0-1-1, 0-1-1) at No. 8 Washington (3-1-0, 1-1-0)
Saturday, March 6 | 1 p.m. PT | Husky Soccer Stadium | Seattle, Wash.
Media Coverage: Washington Live Stream | Live Stats

Notes from the Stanford Match (0-1 OT, Feb. 27)
•      The Aztecs fell to No. 4 Stanford 1-0 in extra time last Saturday evening.
•      The Cardinal scored the game-winner in the first minute of extra time.
•      The Aztecs held Stanford without a shot for the first 47 minutes and only allowed three shots on goal all evening against a Cardinal team that had outscored its opponents 12-1 in their three matches entering the night.
•      SDSU held a 4-0 shot advantage in the first half and had two shots on frame.
•      In the second half, Stanford outshot the Aztecs 9-2, although they only had a couple dangerous opportunities, one being the game-winner.
•      The Aztecs rolled out the same starting XI as their season opener against UCLA, which features four freshmen (Bryson Hankins, Elias Katsaros, Andre Ochoa and Iñigo Villaldea) and four sophomores (Blake Bowen, Kyle Colonna (RS), Hunter George and GK Tetsuya Kadono).
•      Seven Aztecs played the full 91 minutes, six of which were underclassmen.
 
Aztec Storylines
•      SDSU is receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, coming in at No. 32. The Aztecs are fourth in the Far West Region behind Pac-12 counterparts Stanford, UW and Oregon State, all of which are ranked in the top ten nationally.
•      SDSU is outshooting their opponents 21-17and have a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal.
•      SDSU has had the same amount of corner kicks as their opponent in both of their matches.
•      The Aztecs have been an aggressive unit thus far, committing 33 fouls and drawing just 15.
•      Six Aztecs have played every minute so far, five of which are under classmen (Colonna, Hankins, Kadono, Katsaros and Ochoa).
•      Hunter George leads the team in shots (5) and shots on goal (3) despite being limited to 69 minutes through two matches.
•      Ryan Hopkins is in his first year as the Aztecs' head coach. He 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 seasons and was named the 2015 NSCAA West Region Assistant Coach of the Year.
•      SDSU returns Hunter George, who led the Aztecs with five goals and was named to the 2019 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection.
•      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 was named to Top Drawer Soccer's Freshman Best XI preseason team. Ochoa was one of just four freshmen midfielders chosen and the only Pac-12 freshman named.
•      The Aztecs posted a 3.26 team GPA in the 2020 fall semester, best among SDSU's men's programs.
 
Opponent Notebook (Washington)
Washington is 3-1-0 on the season and 1-1-0 in the Pac-12… They are ranked No. 8 by the United Soccer Coaches, No. 10 by College Soccer News and No. 20 by Top Drawer Soccer… They beat Northwest University 6-0 and Gonzaga 3-0 in the non-conference portion of their schedule… The Huskies have split their two Pac-12 matches, losing to Oregon State 2-1 at home and then beating California 2-0 last weekend… They have outscored their opponents 12-2 and have an impressive 84-14 advantage in shots… They have allowed just four shots on goal through four matches… Lucas Meek has a team-high seven points… Nick Scardina is second with six points on three goals… Goalkeeper Sam Fowler has a goals allowed average of 0.63… UW went 17-4-0 in 2019 and 8-2-0 in the Pac-12 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. Head coach Jamie Clark (10th season) is the reigning Pac-12 Coach of the Year and has a record of 119-47-20 at UW. He has led the Huskies to two Pac-12 titles and seven NCAA tournament appearances... The Aztecs are 6-21-8 all-time against Washington… Their last win was in 2016, a 1-0 road win when UW was No. 10 in the country.