SAN JOSE, Calif. - After three-straight road contests, San Jose State women's soccer returns to the comfort of playing in front of the home fans again as they take on Utah Valley this Friday at 7:00 p.m. PT. This will be the first meeting between the two programs. Friday's match is the first of a month-long campaign of the women's soccer program promoting Pediatric Cancer Awareness. The Spartans will wear yellow shoe laces in their running shoes prior to the game before changing into their cleats and will continue to do so for the entire month of September.
FREE PIZZA
» The first 100 fans inside the Spartan Soccer Complex on Friday will receive free pizza. Students are also encouraged the check-in at the game for a chance to win a gift card from Smoking Pig.
STRIKER CLUBS
» The Spartans will host their first of four Striker Clubs on Friday. The single game price of admission is $20 for alumni and $25 for all others. Fans will also get the opportunity to join in on the Striker Club on Sunday, Oct. 6 vs. Utah State, Thursday, Oct. 20 vs. UNLV and Friday, Nov. 1 vs. Fresno State.
LAST WEEK OUT
» The Spartans picked up their first win of the season as they took down LMU, 1-0, in Los Angeles. Freshman Alexis Brewah had the game-winner in the in the 69th minute. SJSU unfortunately also lost their first game of the season, falling 7-0 to No. 3 Stanford.
ROCK-SOLID ROMERO
» Sophomore goalkeeper Ariana Romero has proven to be a worthy successor in the goal. She pitched three-straight shutouts to open her Spartan career. Her shutout against LMU was the first for a Spartan on the road against a
nonconference opponent since 2017. Romero has already compiled 20 saves on the year.
SHUTTING OUT THE OPPOSITION
» SJSU's vaunted defense prided themselves in pitching shutouts in 2018. They compiled a school-record 11 of them, which ranked fourth in the nation heading into the NCAA Tournament. So far in 2019 the trend has continued as the young season has already seen three shutouts.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION - UTAH VALLEY
» The Wolverines of Utah Valley are currently 2-2 on the season. They return 12 letterwinners from last season and currently rank 38th in the nation in shot accuracy at .576. Utah Valley opened the season on a Michigan roadtrip and fell 3-1 at Michigan State and 2-1 at Michigan before returning home last weekend. They took care of business in both home contests, defeating Cal Poly 2-0 and Cal State Fullerton 2-1.
HANSON PICKS UP WIN NO. 50
» The Spartans' win over LMU was the 50th of head coach Lauren Hanson's career with SJSU. She is just the second coach in SJSU history to accumulate 50 wins and now needs just four more to become the school's all-time winningest head coach. Hanson has compiled a record of 50-36-17 and is the third-fastest among current active women's soccer head coaches in the Mountain West to reach the 50-win mark.
FRESHMEN CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE TORCH
» SJSU's offense continues to search for its next great goal scorer and hopes to improve on getting more shots on goal and, ultimately, in the back of the net. The Spartans' first goal of the season against LMU was scored by a freshman (Alexis Brewah) while the team's leading shot-taker is also a freshman (Alison Gallant). SJSU will rely on these two players as well as their returners as they continue to try to get the offensive ball rolling.
CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE
» The SJSU women's soccer coaching staff has a lot of experience when it comes to playing for and winning championships. The trio of Hanson, Tina Estrada and Adrianne Fass have combined for 16 combined trips to the NCAA Tournament as players and coaches as well as three College Cup Championships.
CALIFORNIA CONNECTIONS
» With the ever-expanding world of recruiting, it is not uncommon to see coaches go after players from other stats, even other countries, but the Spartans are unique in the distinction that they have a roster entirely made up of California natives.
