Oct. 14, 2015
CLASH OF THE MOUNTAIN WEST TITANS AHEAD THIS WEEK
As we head down the stretch of Mountain West play, the San José State women's soccer team plays two matches of epic proportions on the road this week at New Mexico and San Diego State. The Spartans and Aztecs are tied at the top of the MW standings with records of 5-1-0, while New Mexico is close behind at 4-1-1. The Spartans will bring an undefeated road record in MW play to Albuquerque, N.M., and aim to keep it that way when traveling to the SDSU Sports Deck where the Aztecs are unbeaten. The first clash is set for Friday, October 16 at 7:00 p.m. MT at New Mexico, followed by a 12:00 p.m. PT start at San Diego State on Sunday, October 18. Live video and statistics will be available for both matches, and fans can also get scoring updates by following the team on Twitter, @SJSUSOCCER.
MATCHES #15-16
San José State (7-5-2, 5-1-0 MW) at New Mexico (6-6-1, 4-1-1 MW)
Friday, October 16, 2015, 7:00 p.m. MT
Albuquerque, N.M.
UNM Soccer Complex (2,500)
LIVE VIDEO
San José State (7-5-2, 5-1-0 MW) at San Diego State (9-4-0, 5-1-0 MW)
Sunday, October 18, 2015, 2:30 p.m. PT
San Diego, Calif.
SDSU Sports Deck (1,250)
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
LOBOS ARE QUIET BUT DANGEROUS
If you look through the 2015 season statistics, nothing will really jump out about the New Mexico team. However, the Lobos take care of what's important - winning matches. New Mexico is tied for eighth in goals, ninth in assists and there are no Lobos in the top-five of any offensive category. Yet, New Mexico Stands 4-1-1 in MW play. Part of that success has been the play of keeper Cassie Ulrich, who matches Zoe Makrigiannis with four shutouts this season. New Mexico has also faced top-tier opponents this season at the UNM Soccer Complex (2,500), including #1-Florida State and #15-Texas Tech. New Mexico is coming off of a 2-1 win over Colorado State in their last match on October 11.
BEST IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST COLLIDE SUNDAY AFTERNOON
At the outset of the week, Sunday's matchup between San José State and San Diego State is certainly the most anticipated conference match of the season thus far. SJSU is undefeated on the road in conference play, while SDSU hasn't lost at home all year long. The Aztecs lead the conference in every offensive category, most importantly in goals with 28. However, Spartans keeper Zoe Makrigiannis (Sr., GK, Surrey, B.C., Canada) comes into this week having only allowed two goals in six conference matches (554:50). The two teams also have the league's top freshmen goal scorers in Darriell Franklin (Fr., F, La Habra, Calif.) and Leah Pruitt.
CIRCLE THE MATCHUP - FRANKLIN VS. PRUITT
When San José State and San Diego State meet on Sunday the top-two scoring freshmen in the Mountain West will be on the pitch. San José State's Darriell Franklin has a share of the conference lead with four game-winning goals, good for 15th in the country, and is second in the league with six total. Close behind is SDSU's Leah Pruitt, with five goals and three in conference play. Pruitt also has four helpers in the conference season, making her a dual-threat forward. Pruitt enters this week with a conference-leading 19 points.
ALL HOPPED UP
Dorthe Hoppius (So., F, Dorsten, Germany) scored in both Spartan wins on the road last week at Air Force and Colorado College. She netted a game-winner against the Falcons in the 13th minute and then put a dagger in the Tigers with an 89th-minute blast from nearly 30 yards out. Her production last weekend launched her into the conference's top-10 for goals (5), points (12) and shots (32).
FOUR ROAD SHUTOUTS AND COUNTING
In six conference matches, senior keeper Zoe Makrigiannis leads the MW in goals against average (0.32) and save percentage (.882). She has only allowed two goals in conference play, and has pitched four consecutive shutouts on the road. Her stellar play is one of the many storylines heading into Sunday's match against San Diego State, the MW's top offense.
VERN & WATHEN PUSH SPARTANS PAST BOISE STATE
San José State battled back from a 1-0 deficit in the second half to defeat Boise State thanks to goals from Veronica Chung (Fr., D, Woodinville, Wash.) and Mireya Wathen-Mayorga (Sr., F, Elk Grove, Calif.). It was the first goal of the season for both players. Chung's came off of a nice corner kick in from Maricruz Chapa (Jr., MF, Orange Cove, Calif.) in the 77th minute which made it 1-1. Wathen-Mayorga scored her first-career game-winning goal in the 99th minute sending Boise State home with a 2-1 loss and giving the Spartans a 3-0 start in conference play for the first time since 2006.
FRESHMAN-SENIOR CONNECTION PUTS DAGGER IN BOISE STATE
Freshman Midfielder Courtney Elterman (Fr., MF, Templeton, Calif.) has been seeing an increase in playing time off the bench for SJSU, and she was in on the game-winning play against Boise State. Elterman raced down the right sideline with the ball and put a crossing pass right on the head of Mireya Wathen-Mayorga leading to the golden goal in the 99th minute. It was the first assist of the season for Elterman.
SPARTANS NOTCH FIRST WIN AT HOME
San José State's 2-1 overtime win over Boise State was the first win at Spartan Soccer Field in 2015. The team was previously 0-2-1 at home and 6-2-1 on the road.
14-MATCH SCORING STREAK ENDS WITH 1-0 LOSS
The Spartans' 1-0 loss to Utah State Sunday was not only their first loss in conference play this year, but it was the first time the team had been shutout since October 19, 2014. 14 matches in a row with at least one score was the Mountain West's longest active streak.
SPARTANS SWEEP MW OPENING WEEKEND
San José State defeated Wyoming, 1-0 (OT), and Colorado State, 2-0, last weekend on the road in the opening weekend of Mountain West play. It is the first time SJSU has started out conference play with a 2-0 record since 2009.
MAKRIGIANNIS BECOMES ALL-TIME LEADER IN SHUTOUTS
Senior keeper Zoe Makrigiannis earned the 11th and 12th shutouts of her Spartan career over the weekend, making her the all-time career leader in that category. She made six saves combined in the two matches, three of which came in the first half against Wyoming to preserve a scoreless tie. San José State eventually broke that tie with a golden goal in overtime to defeat the Cowgirls 1-0.
ZOE WINS MOUNTAIN WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
One day after making San José State women's soccer history, Zoe Makrigiannis was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week. She has now been a defensive player of the week honoree in each of the last two seasons. Zoe is the second Spartan to earn player of the week honors this season after Darriell Franklin was the offensive player of the week for August 24-30.
FRANKLIN-ORODPOUR TANDEM TOO MUCH FOR COLORADO STATE
Darriell Franklin scored her fifth goal of the season to put San José State up 1-0 over Colorado State in the 42nd minute. Samantha Orodpour (Jr., F, Chino Hills, Calif.) hit franklin with a cross from beyond the top-left corner of the box, and was credited with the assist. Less than three minutes into the second half, Franklin returned the favor assisting Orodpour's second goal of the season and the Spartans left Fort Collins with a 2-0 win.
FRANKLIN'S GOLDEN GOAL DOWNS WYOMING
San José State went into overtime for the fourth time this season in the conference opener at Wyoming. Freshman forward Darriell Franklin has seen enough after six minutes of overtime and booted in the golden goal that gave San José State a 1-0 victory. It was Wyoming's first loss at home since October of 2013.
FRANKLIN WINS MOUNTAIN WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Freshman forward Darriell Franklin was named the MW Offensive Player of the Week for Aug. 23-30. She became the first Spartan freshman to win a conference player of the week since Mikaella Meibock in 2012. In two matches, Franklin put three out of five shots on goal and two in the back of the net.
HOPPIUS RECORDS 10TH SPARTAN HAT TRICK
Sophomore forward Dorthe Hoppius recorded San José State's 10th hat trick in program history versus CSUN (9/20). Two of her three goals were go-ahead scores for the Spartans. It was the first hat trick since Kayla Santacruz scored three goals in a 4-1 win over Utah State in October of 2010.
SHARING THE WEALTH
Continuing a trend from last season, eight different Spartans have found the back of the net in 2015. Darriell Franklin leads the way with six and Darlene Rodriguez (Sr., MF, San Jose, Calif.) and Dorthe Hoppius are close behind with three each. Maricruz Chapa and Samantha Orodpour have added two goals a piece while Claire Berkley, Veronica Chung and Mireya Wathen-Mayorga each have one. In 2014, San José State had a Mountain West leading 12 different goal scorers.