DI Men’s Soccer Update: SDSU Men’s Soccer Shuts Out Brown 2-0 & Earned Comeback Win vs UCI
It is the start of a great men’s college soccer season at San Diego State University (SDSU) with the men’s college soccer team, the Aztecs, seeing success on the pitch. The last time the Aztecs won three matches in a row was early in the 2016 season when they won four straight
College Soccer News: It was America’s finest city’s SDSU vs Ivy League’s Brown University from Rhode Island last night and San Diego walked off with a decisive shutout. SDSU’s Damian German scored both goals to help the Aztec’s rise in the ranks.
While the landscape of the college game has dramatically changed in the last few years, what remains consistent is the thrill of the victory, especially when a team is on a winning streak.
The scarlet and black Aztec men’s soccer team (3-2-1) won their third match in a row with a dominating 2-0 win over Brown Friday evening. Damian German, a transfer from Grand Canyon, scored both goals, one in each half and the Aztecs outshot the Bears 18-3.
“The team is starting to hit their stride,” said SDSU Head Coach Lev Kirshner.
“We had a lot of new players coming in and we are getting better and better each game,” said Kirshner. “This was our best performance of the year. We did just about everything right. We got the shutout, we got two goals, had control of the game and played very well. I’m very excited by the group and their progress as we get closer to Pac-12 play.”
The Aztecs controlled the tempo and pace of the match from the kickoff and outshot the Bears 11-0.
The first SDSU goal came in the 35th minute with a pass near the top of the box from Emil Kjellker, Damian German (pronounced dom-yon her-mahn) turned and dribbled parallel to the goal before firing across his body to score his first goal as an Aztec.
German’s second goal of the night came after AJ Valenzuela played a long through ball up the middle to set up a one-on-one with the keeper, which German easily converted
“In the second half, we came out and completely dominated the game,” midfielder Keegan Kelly said. “We didn’t give them any chances in the second half and it was definitely a complete performance.”
Practice makes perfect: “AJ and I played together in the summer and he slipped me a lot of balls that I scored a lot of goals on,” German explained. “When I saw AJ on the ball with time and space, I knew the ball was going to get to me.”
The strong offensive performance by the Aztecs led to their strong defensive effort as they didn’t allow a single shot on goal all evening.
“Damian was special tonight,” said Kirshner who was awarded Man of the Match. “He’s been getting all the stuff in between the boxes very well and tonight he found the back of the net and for goal scorers that’s a really important thing. Hopefully, his momentum carries in to Pac-12 play.”
Superstition? “I’ve never wore a high number before like 28. I felt like it was cursed for me, so when I heard 19 was open, I thought I’d give it a shot. Then I got two goals with it, so now I’ll definitely stick with 19,” said Damian German after switching jersey numbers from No. 28 to No. 19 prior to the match
Last week, the Aztecs thrilled their collegiate fans with a comeback 2-1 victory over UC Irvine, winning the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Aztec Soccer Classic. In this match, SDSU gave up a goal in the fourth minute but never lost track of their mission, scoring in the 85th and 92nd minute to complete the comeback and earn a win.
After the match against UCI, SDSU’s Kirshner said, “Obviously we are super excited about winning our own tournament.”
The Aztecs have won this tournament five times in its 11-year history (2009, ’11, ’14, ’16 & ’18).
“I hate giving the trophy to another team so that makes me very happy. The character of this squad over the weekend was phenomenal,” said Kirshner. “We were down in both games and to come back and find the victories is just a testament to the type of group we have. They are never going to tire and they are never going to quit and that was evidenced by this tournament and we are very proud of the group.”
Pablo Pelaez, with his assist on the tying goal, was the Man of the Match.
“Pablo Pelaez got the ball in the right spot on the free kick. I told him where to put it and he put it there perfectly for the run. He controlled the midfield, controlled the tournament and was the most outstanding player of the tournament.” said coach Kirshner.
“It feels good,” said SDSU defender Miles Stray. “We started out as a new team and it’s hard to get in a rhythm for the first couple games, but overall the team is building game by game so it feels good to finally get some wins. It is something we deserve with the quality play we’ve had.”
