Oct. 25, 2016
REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP AND TOP SEED ON THE LINE FOR WOMEN'S SOCCERThe San José State women's soccer team plays its final game of the regular season at Fresno State on Thursday night at 7 p.m. (PT). A win and some help from around the conference could earn SJSU a regular season title, the number-one seed in next week's MW Championship Tournament and the right to host next year's championship. The match will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network.Match #19
San José State (10-4-4, 7-2-1 MW) at Fresno State (9-8-1, 4-5-1 MW)Thursday, October 27, 7:00 p.m. (PT)Fresno State Soccer FieldFresno, Calif.
Live Streaming
Live Stats
SCENARIOS FOR A REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP
- A San José State win coupled with a UNLV loss or tie would make the Spartans regular season Mountain West champions. With that, they would be the #1-seed in the Mountain West Tournament and would have the right to host the championship tournament next season.
- A San José State tie, plus a UNLV loss and either a tie or a loss for San Diego State would also give SJSU the regular season title.
UNLV travels to Nevada on Friday night while San Diego State hosts New Mexico.ANOTHER 10-WIN SEASONSunday's win gave SJSU its 10th win of the year, making it back-to-back years with a double-digit win total for just the second time since 1999-2000. The program had double-digit win totals in the first three seasons of existence from 1995 through 1997. The 2011 and 2012 Spartans also finished with double-digit wins. A win on Thursday would give SJSU eight wins in conference play, matching the program best which was set last season.CLIMBING THE PACIFIC REGION RANKSSan José State has climbed up one spot to eighth in the weekly National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Pacific Region rankings. The Spartans and UNLV Rebels are the only two Mountain West schools in the top-10 of the 35-team region which includes all teams in the Pac-12, Mountain West and Big Sky conferences.VICTORIOUS ON SENIOR DAYSan José State defeated Colorado College 3-1 last week on Senior Day. It was the fourth straight win for the Spartans, all of which the offense has produced at least three goals. The win helped keep San José State's chances of winning the regular season title alive, and it sent nine seniors off on a high note in their final match at home.FRANKLIN WINS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEKFive points on two goals and an assist leading to a pair of Spartan victories earned Darriell Franklin the nod for Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week. It was the first such honor for any Spartan during the 2016 season. Franklin assisted the game-winning goal in the 73rd minute of the 3-1 win at Air Force. She struck early in both matches with goals of her own, setting the tone for the Spartans' offense.FAST STARTS HELP SPARTANS AGAINSan José State has scored a goal in the first 20 minutes of seven conference matches this year. Two of them came last week when Darriell Franklin put the Spartans up 1-0 at Air Force in the 14th minute, and scored the first goal against Colorado College in the eighth minute. The Spartans are 8-3-0 overall in matches when they draw first blood.
LEADING THE LEAGUE IN OFFENSEDuring conference play San José State is the league's total and per-game leader in points, goals and assists. With one game left until the end of the regular season, the offensive numbers mark a complete 180 from the beginning of the year when SJSU scored three goals in the first seven matches. Seven different Spartans have scored multiple goals during conference play alone, led by Alexis Venegas with six.LAST MEETING/SERIES HISTORY WITH FRESNO STATESan José State defeated Fresno Sate 2-0 at home in the regular season finale last season. Fresno State controls the all-time series 14-8-2, but SJSU is 2-1-0 against the Bulldogs as Mountain West foes. The Spartans are 4-1-1 against their rivals from the valley going back to the 2009 season.