LAS VEGAS - Fresh off one of the most successful regular seasons in school history, San José State will kickoff postseason play on Tuesday afternoon against Air Force in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament.
The Spartans enter as the event's No. 3 seed, marking the program's best seed in a conference tournament since the 2009 MPSF Tournament (also No. 3).
STORYLINES
THE SCHEDULE
San José State will aim to play three matches in five days while in Las Vegas, with that stretch beginning on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. against Air Force. The winner of that match will then advance to face UTRGV in Thursday's semifinal (also scheduled for 2:30 p.m.) and Saturday afternoon's title match will kickoff at 1:00 p.m.
AN SJSU WIN WOULD (QUARTERFINALS)
- Send SJSU to the semifinals of a conference tournament for the 10th time in school history.
- Mark the program's third victory in its last four matches against Air Force.
- Be better than a loss.
FOLLOW ALONG
Each match will be televised on ESPN+ for viewers inside the United States with Ben Wilson and Philipp Weise on the call. International fans can view the tournament contests on the WAC Digital Network. Live stats will be available and you can follow every San José State men's soccer match live on Twitter, @SanJoseStateMS.
FIRST TOUCHES
- Eight of the 11 starters in SJSU's last match came from Northern California high schools.
- Senior Rudi Castro tops the team in shots (22), points (16), shots on goal (11) and assists (10).
- Sophomore Kasper Poulsgaard has been on the pitch for a team-leading 753 out of a possible 772 minutes this season.
CORNER KICKS
- San José State has advanced to the postseason for four straight seasons (is looking for their third trip to the title match in that stretch).
- Senior Willy Miranda completed the program's first hat trick since Sept. 4, 2015 (Rory Knibbs vs. Sacramento State) with his three-goal outing at California Baptist last month. Miranda was named to Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week following the performance.
ROAD WARRIORS
San José State ended the regular season 3-0-1 in away matches. This marks the first year since 2005 (5-0-1) that the program completed a regular season unbeaten on the road.
SOME HISTORICAL GOAL DIFFERENTIAL
Wins by four-plus goals don't come around very often. Last month's 4-0 victory at California Baptist is just the program's fifth in the last 18 years against Division I opponents (and the only one in that stretch away from home).
Season / Opponent / Result
2020-21 / at California Baptist / W, 4-0
2019 / vs. Kansas City / W, 6-0
2015 / vs. Grand Canyon / W, 6-0
2007 / vs. Charleston / W, 4-0
2003 / vs. Sacramento State / W, 6-1
DROPPING DIMES
San José State's 27 assists in eight matches has the team ranked No. 2 nationally in assists per match.
Rank / Team / Assists Per Match
1st / Oakland / 4.22
2nd / San José State / 3.38
2nd / High Point / 3.18
RUDI, RUDI, RUDI
After leading the team in goals in his first year with the Spartans, senior Rudi Castro has dished out 10 assists in his second season. That has the San José native ranked second nationally in the category. Castro is one assist away from becoming the first Spartan in 21 years to crack the top-10 on SJSU's single-season passing list.
Rank / Player / Assists
1st / Noah Jensen / (Oakland) 14
2nd / Rudi Castro (San José State) / 10
2nd / Charlie Ostrem (Washington) / 10
CASTRO CHOSEN
Senior forward Rudi Castro is the reigning United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week after tallying four assists and a game-winning goal while helping lead the Spartans to a perfect 3-0 record. Castro is the first player in program history to earn the weekly honor. The San José product has garnered a pair of WAC Offensive Player of the Week awards this season, becoming the first Spartan to earn multiple weekly honors in the same season since Jorge Martinez accomplished the feat in the program's historic 2000 campaign.
FORE!
San José State is enjoying a current four-match winning streak, the program's longest since its stretch of four straight victories in 2017.
VIEWS FROM THE 6
The Spartans are also on a six-match unbeaten streak, the program's longest since its stretch of eight straight results in 2009.
ATTACKING SOCCER IS FUN SOCCER
For the first time in two decades, the Spartans have scored in each one of their first eight matches to start a season.
SOME EXTRA EXTRA TIME
San José State's back-to-back overtime wins over Utah Valley and Incarnate Word marked the program's first set of two straight overtime victories since the 2005 season (3-2 at UNLV, 3-2 at No. 2 New Mexico).
SHOOTERS SHOOT
The 30 shots attempted by the Spartans at Houston Baptist earlier this month mark the program's most in a single match since Sept. 18, 2008 (32 in 2-2 draw vs. Cal Poly). The shot total is the most for any WAC team this season and the eighth-most in all of Division I. In matches against D-I opponents, the 30 shot attempts rank No. 3 nationally (East Tennessee State - 37 vs. VMI, Northern Illinois - 31 vs. Chicago State).
ABOUT THOSE WEEKLY AWARDS
With two WAC Offensive Player of the Week nods to Rudi Castro and a Defensive Player of the Week honor for David Sweeney, this marks the program's most weekly awards from a conference office in the same year since 2008 (Efrain Burgos, Richard Mann, Nick Cukar and Lewis Sweeney).
ABOUT THOSE TIES
The team's back-to-back draws against Houston Baptist and UTRGV marked the program's first set of two straight ties since the 2011 campaign (1-1 at UC Riverside and 1-1 vs. Santa Clara).
THREE'S COMPANY
The Spartans have won three straight matches by a single goal for the first time since Oct. 5-12, 2012 (2-1 at CSU Bakersfield, 2-1 at UNLV, 1-0 vs. CSU Bakersfield).
SNIPER
For a second straight season, senior Nicolas Brenes is leading the Spartans in shot accuracy. The midfielder is slotted second in the WAC at 59% just a year after finishing the 2019 season at a 54% clip. Brenes is on pace to finish the 2020-21 campaign with the program's most accurate mark in eight years (Rory Knibbs - 63% in 2013).
NOT BAD FOR STARTERS
Freshman goalkeeper Eric Waltz made his first career start in his first career appearance in the team's regular season finale against UNLV. Waltz made sure his debut was memorable, earning the shutout victory while spending all 90 minutes in goal. The freshman made four saves on the night and faced 11 shots total.
SENIORITIS
The Spartans boast 12 seniors on this year's side, which is tied with Loyola Marymount for the most in all of Division I soccer.
COMEBACK KIDS
San José State has earned a result coming from behind in the second half in three of its matches this season.
THE BIG 125
The April 3 victory over Incarnate Word marked match No. 125 at San José State for head coach Simon Tobin. Tobin is a native of London and graduated from Nonington College in 1983. His 348 career victories ranks No. 10 in all of Division I among active coaches.
STRONG SEASON FOR THE WAC
The Western Athletic Conference looks poised to send multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. The conference has two teams ranked inside the top-25 of the United Soccer Coaches poll (SJSU earned a draw against one of those clubs and led the other in the match's 81st minute) and seven inside the top-102 of the RPI (only the ACC has more).