Julio Alarcon received a pair of honors before arriving at SDSU.

July 18, 2012

SAN DIEGO - San Diego State men's soccer incoming freshman Julio Alarcon received a pair of honors prior to his arrival on Montezuma Road. The El Paso, Texas, native was named a freshman to watch and selected to a U17/18 Starting XI squad.

A defender out of Bel Air High School in El Paso, Alarcon was picked as one of 10 freshmen to watch in 2012 by TopDrawerSoccer.com. Alarcon was one of two players from west coast teams and the only player from a Pac-12 Conference school to be recognized.

Travis Clark of TopDrawerSoccer.com said Alarcon "will get ample opportunities to immediately get significant minutes his freshman year. He has the size and speed to compete and stand out at the collegiate level, after honing his skills at the Academy level for Real Salt Lake-AZ."

While competing for Real Salt Lake-AZ, Alarcon was recently named to the West Conference U17/18 Starting XI by the U.S. Soccer Development Academy ahead of the Academy's Finals Week in Houston, Texas. The appointment marks the second straight year in which he has been named to his age group's Starting XI.

Alarcon and SDSU will begin its quest for a national championship on Aug. 18, when it plays host to New Mexico in a friendly starting at 1 p.m. PT. The Aztecs' regular season gets underway in Indianapolis, Ind., when they participate in The adidas/IU Credit Union Classic where they will face Notre Dame (Aug. 31) and Indiana (Sept. 2).

San Diego State's home opener is slated for Sept. 7, when it plays host to the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Soccer Tournament at SDSU Sports Deck at Montezuma Road. The Aztecs will welcome Houston Baptist (Sept. 7) and Ohio State (Sept. 9) to campus in a festivity-filled weekend where the program will play its first game at SDSU Sports Deck under the lights (Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. PT) and honor the 1987 team that advanced to the NCAA title game.