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Aztec Men's Soccer Welcomes Second-Ranked UCLA on Sunday
Oct. 8, 2009
SAN DIEGO - Complete Release in PDF Format
Aztec Men's Soccer Welcomes Second-Ranked UCLA on Sunday The Ball Stops Here Redshirt junior Brad Byrns (Alamo, Calif.) is quietly putting together another solid season on The Mesa. Byrns, who missed most of last season with an arm injury, is 3-3-2 with a 1.27 goals against average over 781:12. He has 36 saves for a 76.6 save percentage and two shutouts. Byrns gave up a goal at Oregon State 56:02 into the match, ending his streak of not surrendering a tally at 300:02. The scoreless streak started in the second half against UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 25 and ended on Oct. 4 at the Beavers. The streak is Byrns' second-longest of his career, trailing a 2007 streak that lasted 341:31. Over his career, Byrns is 10-4-5 (.658) and ranked among the school leaders in goals against average (seventh, 1.05) and saves (tied-10th, 76). Aztecs Picked to Finish Fifth in Pac-10.....Again Despite returning eight starters from last season, including six all-conference selections, the 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 on Aug. 13. SDSU picked up nine points, three behind fourth-place Washington (12). California is predicted to win the regular season title with 24 points, including four first-place votes, while UCLA grabbed the other two first-place votes and is picked to finish second with 22 points. Stanford is third with 15 points, followed by the Huskies (12), the Aztecs (9) and Oregon State (8). San Diego State, which has never been picked higher than fourth in its five preseason polls, has finished the season better than each of its predicted finishes. In its inaugural Pac-10 season in 2005, SDSU was picked sixth, yet managed a fourth-place finish. The Aztecs finished second in each of their next two seasons despite being picked fourth and fifth, respectively, in the preseason poll. Last year, San Diego State was picked fifth but finished third in league play. Aztec Men's Soccer Recruiting Class Ranked No. 22 in the Nation San Diego State's 2009 men's soccer recruiting class has been ranked as the 22nd-best in America by College Soccer News. It is the third top-25 class by SDSU in the past four years and fourth top-40 recruiting class over the past five campaigns. The accolades of the five-player group include, but are not limited to, an under-17, 18 and 20 U.S. national team starter, numerous high school All-Americans, multiple starters on ODP teams, a nationally-ranked goalkeeper and one of the top defenders from the state of Texas. On the website, the Aztecs are one spot behind perennial power Indiana (21st) and ahead of South Carolina (23rd), Harvard (24th) and Santa Clara (25th). Other schools behind San Diego State include Big East members St. John's (26th), Connecticut (27th) and Georgetown (28th), Big West programs Cal Poly (33rd) and UC Irvine (38th), and SEC power Clemson (35th). Cardenas Named to College Soccer News Preseason All-America Team San Diego State's Nick Cardenas (Thornton, Colo./Horizon HS) was named a preseason All-American by College Soccer News in early July. A senior, Cardenas was picked as a third-team selection by the website after being a third-team preseason member in 2007 as well. A defender, Cardenas has anchored a backline which has posted 20 shutouts over his three-year career. Last season, Cardenas tallied a career-high four assists while leading the team in minutes played (1,646). A member of the 2008 preseason M.A.C. Hermann Award Watch List, Cardenas became the first Aztec to be named to three straight NSCAA/adidas all-Far West teams since Kyle Whittemore (1985-88) when he was picked as a second-team selection in December. He also garnered all-Pac-10 Conference accolades for the third consecutive year. A 2006 U.S. U-20 National Team Camp call-up, Cardenas has twice been named a national player of the week (Sept. 17, 2007 by Top Drawer Soccer and Nov. 1, 2006 by NSCAA/adidas). In 2006, Cardenas was picked as the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, as well as a College Soccer News All-Freshman and a Top Drawer Soccer All-Rookie first-team selection. Altamirano Named One of 100 Freshmen to Keep an Eye On San Diego State men's soccer incoming player Jose Altamirano (San Diego/Southwest HS) recently has been picked by College Soccer News as one of the 100 Freshmen From Coast To Coast To Keep An Eye On. Current Aztecs who have previously been named to the preseason list include seniors Daniel Ortega (San Diego/Eastlake HS) and Evan Toft (Aurora, Colo./Grandview HS), and redshirt sophomore Gemechu Abraham (Beaverton, Ore./Beaverton HS). Altamirano (5-7, 135) comes to The Mesa as the most heralded recruit in recent history. Altamirano is a member of three U.S. national team age groups (U-20, U-18, U-17) and is a three-time NSCAA Youth All-American (2006-08). Altamirano, who ESPNRISE.com ranks as the third-best prospect in the country and Top Drawer Soccer.com rates as the fifth, also garnered All-America accolades from EA Sports, Parade Magazine and ESPNRISE.com after the 2008 campaign. Additionally, Altamirano was picked as the CIF Player of the Year and San Diego County's Player of the Year. Aztec Men's Soccer and Kick for Hope Team Up to Raise Money for Africa The San Diego State men's soccer team recently concluded a successful soccer clinic with Kick for Hope, a nonprofit organization that organizes soccer events to raise money for charities in Africa. It benefits children in Africa whose lives are ravaged by poverty and disease such as HIV/aids and malaria. Following the Aztecs' game against San Diego on Sept. 6, SDSU head coach Lev Kirshner and the rest of the men's soccer team ran a one-hour soccer clinic for participating boys and girls from the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO). All the benefits went directly to Kick for Hope. "We are extremely grateful to SDSU for hosting the AYSO clinic to benefit Kick for Hope," Kick for Hope President Kristen Chandler said. "While raising $550 to support our efforts, we also raised awareness among the youth and their families about the struggles facing African children, who like them, have a passion for soccer. We hope each player left with a sense of satisfaction that their participation will not only impact their game, but will also impact on the lives of some of the poorest children in the world." In addition to the Kick for Hope soccer clinic with the AYSO players, Kirshner also did a special coaches clinic with various coaches of club teams in the area. Some of the topics Kirshner focused on included practice organization, attacking and defending techniques and strength and conditioning methods, to name a few. Reviewing the Bruins UCLA takes its six-game unbeaten streak into its game with the Aztecs. The Bruins have gone 5-0-1 over the streak and are an impressive 6-1-1 (1-0-1 Pac-10) on the year. Four of UCLA's six victories have been by two or more goals, including a 2-0 shutout over preseason No. 1 Maryland in its opener on Sept. 4. The Bruins, who have won five Pac-10 titles this decade (2002-05, 2008), are ranked No. 2 in the country by Soccer America, No. 3 by College Soccer News, No. 4 by NSCAA, as well as Soccer Times, and No. 7 by Top Drawer Soccer. It will be SDSU's third ranked opponent in its last four contests. UCLA has been led offensively by Kyle Nakazawa, whose 17 points on seven goals and three assists are among the leaders in the country. Nakazawa, who is on a seven-match scoring streak, is followed by Chandler Hoffman (three goals, two assists), Ryan Hollingshead (three goals, one assist) and David Estrada (six assists). Brian Rowe (4-0-1, 0.75 GAA, 480:13) has done the bulk of goalkeeper duties after starter Brian Perk (2-1-0, 0.69 GAA, 259:47) was called up to the U.S. U-20 national team early last month. UCLA has dominated the all-time series, 28-4-10. However, things have begun to change the past few years. SDSU is 1-1-3 against the Bruins in its last five meetings. In fact, the Aztecs could easily be 3-1-2 over their last six. San Diego State played a man down for most of its game last Oct. 5 and two men down for the final 12 minutes in a thrilling 3-3 double-overtime tie. SDSU had jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the Bruins came roaring back and the Aztecs were issued two red cards. In the Aztecs' previous loss in the series (Oct. 8, 2006), SDSU once again played the majority of the match a man short because of a red card.
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