Cal State Bakersfield heads into its match with a solid 2-2-1 record, having played two top-20 teams. The Roadrunners are coming off a 3-0 loss at No. 20 UC Irvine on Monday. Cal State Bakersfield has also lost to No. 14 Washington, 5-1, with its wins coming at Portalnd (2-1, ot) and at Saint Mary's (1-0).

Towa Manda leads the team with two goals and four points. Robbie Gouk (one goal, one assist), Mike Eparaza (one goal) and Oscar Coppieters (one goal) have also scored for the Roadrunners. Steve Trojanowski has played all 487-plus minutes in net and is 2-2-1 with a 1.85 goals against average.

SDSU has had great success against Cal State Bakersfield, owning a 4-0 all-time record. The two teams, however, haven't met since Sept. 6, 1993, when the Aztecs won the game, 5-1. San Diego State has won the four meetings by a combined score of 23-1, including a 13-0 victory on Oct. 14, 1984, where it set two school records, including largest margin of victory (13) and most goals in a single match (13).

SDSU Drops Out of National Polls
After a disappointing loss to New Jersey Institute of Technology but an impressive victory over Fairleigh Dickinson, San Diego State have dropped out of the national polls for the first time this season.

Last week, the Aztecs were nationally ranked in two polls - No. 22 by Top Drawer Soccer and No. 23 by College Soccer News - and were receiving votes in the College Soccer News, NSCAA/adidas and Soccer Times polls.

Aztecs' 2007 Recruiting Class Ranked No. 19 in the Nation
San Diego State's 2007 recruiting class has been listed among the top 20 in America by College Soccer News for the second consecutive season. The publication ranked the Aztecs' incoming class No. 19, after having the 17th-best class a year ago.

SDSU sits in 19th, one spot behind Seton Hall and above perennial national powers St. John's (20th), Saint Louis (22nd), Rutgers (27th) and New Mexico (31st).

In addition, incoming recruits Gemechu Abraham and Kellen Frye are listed among the Top 100 Freshmen to Keep an Eye On From Coast to Coast by College Soccer News.

Aztecs Picked to Finish Fifth in Pac-10
Despite returning seven starters, including four all-conference selections, from last season's second-place squad, the No. 25 San Diego State men's soccer team has been picked to finish fifth in the Pac-10 Conference in the preseason poll voted on by the league's coaches.

SDSU picked up nine points, four behind fourth-place Stanford (13 points). UCLA, the 2006 NCAA runner-ups, received 23 points, including three first-place votes, to lead the preseason poll for the sixth consecutive year.

The Bruins were followed by Washington (two first-place votes) and California (one first-place vote), who each tied for second with 20 points. The Cardinal (13), the Aztecs (9) and Oregon State (5) rounded out the conference.

It should be noted that the Aztecs were selected to finish fourth last season, yet managed a second-place finish with a 5-2-3 league record. In its inaugural season in the Pac-10 in 2005, SDSU was picked last with just five votes, yet wound up fourth.

Sophomore Nick Cardenas Named Third-Team Preseason All-American by College Soccer News
Nick Cardenas (Thornton, Colo./Horizon HS) has been named a Preseason Third-Team All-American by College Soccer News. Cardenas, a 6-5 sophomore, was a College Soccer News All-Freshman pick last season.

A 2006 NSCAA/adidas all-Far West second team selection and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, Cardenas tied for the team lead with six goals, despite being a defender. He started all 18 games he appeared in last season and was a U.S. U-20 National Team Camp call-up in October.

Cardenas, a Top Drawer Soccer All-Rookie Team (first team) selection in 2006, became the first Aztec to receive the NSCAA/adidas National Player of the Week award on Nov. 1 for his performances in SDSU's sweep over Pac-10 champion California and Stanford. Cardenas scored a goal in the Aztecs' 3-1 win over the Bears on Oct. 27 and followed that up with the lone goal in SDSU's 1-0 victory against the Cardinal. For his efforts, he also was named to the Soccer America Team of the Week, College Soccer News Team of the Week and was the Pac-10 Player of the Week.

This season, Cardenas wasted no time getting onto the scoreboard when he took a pass from classmate Evan Toft and headed the ball into the net to give SDSU a 2-1 lead at Creighton. Although the Aztecs would end up tying the Bluejays, Cardenas proved there will be no sophomore slump in 2007.

Currently, Cardenas leads the squad with two goals and is tied for the lead with four points after tallying the game-winner in SDSU's 2-0 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Sept. 9. He has scored his two goals on 10 shots and his .200 shot percentage is the highest on the squad. In addition, Cardemas is second on the team with six shots on goal and a .600 shots on goal percentage.

Cardenas has eight career goals in just 22 games. All eight of his tallies have been headers.

Picking Up Where He Left Off
Senior co-captain Kraig Chiles wasted no time in making his case as one of the top scorers in the Pac-10 once again. The Poway, Calif., native, scored on his first shot attempt of the season when his free kick from 25 yards found the back of the net 19:15 into the match.

A midfielder, Chiles has led the team in scoring each of the past two seasons, scoring seven times for 14 points in 2005 and following that up with a six goal, four assist (16 points) season in 2006.

Chiles, a two-time all-Pac-10 performer, needs 11 goals to tie Aaron Susi (1993-96), Dida Mendes (1979-82) and Vince Bucelli (1979, 1981-82) for ninth on SDSU's all-time leading scoring list.

On Sunday, Chiles picked up assists on both of SDSU's goal in a 2-0 Aztec victory over Fairleigh Dickinson. Chiles also has started 43 consecutive games for the Aztecs, the longest such current streak on the team.

In Byrns We Trust!
With the pressure of having to replace a two-time All-American and arguably one of the greatest Aztec goalkeepers in Tally Hall, redshirt freshman Brad Byrns is certainly coming along in his own rite.

Byrns, who got the opening night start when SDSU played at No. 17 Creighton and has started three of the team's four games this season, is 1-1-1 with a 1.24 goals against average in 2007. He has nine saves and a .692 save percentage in 290 minutes of action.

One of the four goals he has allowed, however, was an own goal as an Aztec defender inadvertantly knocked the ball into his own net.

Byrns earned his first career shutout in San Diego State's 2-0 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Sept. 9. Despite not making a save and facing just four shots, Byrns came off his line well and was vocal from the back.

Who Needs 11 Players?
Playing a man down doesn't seem to be a problem for the San Diego State Aztecs.

In its opening game at Creighton on Aug. 31, junior transfer Myles Davis was given a red card just 40:27 into the match, forcing the Aztecs to play with 10 men for the remainder of the game. SDSU, however, managed to take a 2-1 lead in the 68th minute when sophomore Nick Cardenas headed in a strike from classmate Evan Toft. Although the Bluejays would score a late goal and push the game to overtime that would eventually end in a 2-2 tie, it could be safe to say that the Aztecs are comfortable playing shorthanded.

With its game versus Creighton, SDSU has now played three matches with 10 guys over the last two seasons. The Aztecs have played a man down 66.7 percent over those three games, but have arguably outplayed the opposition.

In the 193:13 of shorthanded play, San Diego State has outscored its opponents, 3-2, and has only been outshot, 32-27. What's even more impressive is the fact that each of the 10-on-11 play has come against nationally ranked teams - No. 4 Washington and No. 16 UCLA last season, and No. 17 Creighton this year.

Looking Ahead
Following this weekend's home match versus Cal State Bakersfield, SDSU makes its first road trip since Aug. 31 when it travels to Las Vegas for the UNLV Tournament. The Aztecs will meet Missouri State on Friday (Sept. 21) before taking on Drake on Saturday (Sept. 22). Both games are set to kick off at 5 p.m.

It will be the just the third time San Diego State has played on back-to-back days during head coach Lev Kirshner's eight-year tenure and the first time since Sept., 2-3, 2005. In Kirshner's tenure, the Aztecs are 2-1-1 when playing in consecutive days.

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