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Spartans Open WAC Tournament Against Utah Tech

LAS VEGAS - The No. 6 seed in the 2023 WAC Men's Soccer Tournament, the San José State men's soccer team (6-7-4, 3-4-1 WAC), will play the No. 3 seed Utah Tech (8-8-0, 4-4-0) in the quarterfinals on Sunday at 4 p.m. on ESPN+. 

CONFERENCE REGULAR SEASON IN REVIEW

  • The Spartans played to a 3-4-1 record in conference play and finished the regular season in sixth place.
  • The Spartans' three wins were over Air Force, Utah Tech and Grand Canyon.
  • Angel Iniguez led the Spartans with seven points which was tied for the eighth-most in the WAC.
  • David Sweeney had the second-most shutouts in conference play with three.

SEASON TIDBITS

  • Sweeney became the Spartans' all-time leader in both career saves and shutouts this season. During his career, he has made 278 saves and recorded 20 shutouts. He needs only 11 more saves and one more shutout to become the all-time leader in the WAC in both categories. 
  • Iniguez was named the WAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week on Aug. 29.
  • For the overall season, Gaku Nishimura and Iniguez have led the Spartans with six assists each.
  • Nishimura and Iniguez are second and third in the conference for the highest number of multi-point matches, recording four and three respectively.

SPARTANS HISTORY AT THE WAC TOURNAMENT

  • This will be the Spartans' seventh consecutive appearance in the WAC Tournament and 10th overall since rejoining the conference in 2013.
  • The Spartans have made the Championship Match four times in that span.
  • Last season, the Spartans made the Championship Match but fell in a penalty shootout to the hosts, California Baptist.

VS UTAH TECH

  • The Spartans defeated the Utah Tech Trailblazers, 3-0, on Oct. 8.
  • Nishimura led the Spartans with a goal and an assist in the win while Sweeney made four saves to record his school-record 19th career shutout.
  • The Spartans have never lost against the Trailblazers, holding a 4-0-0 all-time record with three shutouts against the school formerly known as Dixie State.

THE FIELD

  • These are the six teams in the tournament:
  1. Seattle U (12-2-3, 7-0-1 WAC)
  2. California Baptist (7-5-4, 5-1-2 WAC)
  3. Utah Tech (8-8-0, 4-4-0 WAC)
  4. UNLV (5-7-4, 3-3-2 WAC)
  5. Utah Valley (3-6-7, 2-2-4 WAC)
  6. San José State (6-7-4, 3-4-1 WAC)

UP NEXT: If the Spartans win, they will play the No. 2 seed California Baptist on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.

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