Oct. 20, 2015
SPARTANS BEGIN THREE-GAME HOME STRETCH FRIDAY VERSUS UNLV
After four in a row on the road, San José State returns home to close out the season with three consecutive matches at home. This weekend features matchups against UNLV, Friday, October 23, at noon PT, and Nevada on Sunday also at noon PT. With 18 points, San José State is a win away from clinching a spot in the Mountain West Championship Tournament. 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 #17-18
San José State (8-6-2, 6-2-0 MW) vs. UNLV (8-9-0, 3-5-0 MW)
Friday, October 23, 2015, 12:00 p.m. PT
San Jose, Calif.
Spartan Soccer Field (400)
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
San José State (8-6-2, 6-2-0 MW) vs. Nevada (6-8-2, 3-4-1 MW)
Sunday, October 25, 2015, 12:00 p.m. PT
San Jose, Calif.
Spartan Soccer Field (400)
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
SPARTANS EDGED 2-1 in first-place showdown
In a battle for the top of the Mountain West table, San José State was edged 2-1 by San Diego State. The Spartans struck first in the fourth minute with a header by Dorthe Hoppius, but less than a minute later SDSU evened the match. Leah Pruitt scored the game-winning goal for the Aztecs in the 56th minute. It was the first loss on the road in conference play for the Spartans, and the seventh win in a row kept San Diego State undefeated at home in 2015.
TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS FOR THE SPARTANS
One more win for the Spartans will clinch a spot in the Mountain West Championship Tournament, which features the top-six regular season teams. With 18 points, SJSU stands eight points ahead of the seventh place team. San José State can still clinch a spot with a tie, but would need losses by Wyoming, Nevada and Fresno State. Three regular season matches remain for all Mountain West teams before the tournament begins on November 3 in San Diego, Calif.
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS
UNLV comes to San José with momentum from a 3-0 win over Colorado State during which the Rebels put up 30 shots. The win capped a three-game home stand in which the team finished 2-1. UNLV is 2-5 overall on the road and 1-2 in conference play. The Spartans will be seeking their first win against the Rebels in the fourth matchup of the all-time series. Last year San José State fell at UNLV, 3-0. Sunday's match will be the 18th meeting between the Spartans and the Nevada Wolf Pack. SJSu controls the all-time series 10-6-1. Nevada comes in 3-4-1 in MW play and is being outscored 9-12 by the opponents in those contests. The Wolf Pack were victorious by a score of 1-0 at home over Wyoming last Sunday afternoon. San José State will be looking to avenge a 2-1 loss to Nevada from last season.
ALL HOPPED UP
Dorthe Hoppius has caught fire lately, scoring in each of the last four matches. Two of those goals have been game-winners and another was a go-ahead goal against San Diego State last Sunday in the fourth minute. Her game-winner against New Mexico in overtime was a pure heads-up play when most players around quit on the play, Didi rifled in the golden goal. Hoppius is top-10 in the MW for shots (42), goals (7) and points (16).
SPARTAN KEEPERS LEAD THE CONFERENCE
San José State is the top-ranked team in the conference for goals against average at 0.61. In eight MW matches, SJSU has allowed just five goals in 738:29 of gametime. Zoe Makrigiannis and her four shutouts have played a huge part in that stat, but freshman keeper Paige Simoneau showed last Sunday that she can play right up with the best of them. Simoneau entered in the 57th minute and held the conference's top offense (San Diego State) scoreless.
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, nine different Spartans have found the back of the net in 2015. Dorthe Hoppius leads the way with seven while Darriell Franklin is close behind with six. Darlene Rodriguez (Sr., MF, San Jose, Calif.) has three goals, and Maricruz Chapa and Samantha Orodpour each have added two goals. Claire Berkley, Veronica Chung, Mireya Wathen-Mayorga and Alexis Venegas (Jr., MF, Van Nuys, Calif.) each have one. In 2014, San José State had a Mountain West leading 12 different goal scorers.