Sports

Sept. 29 - Oct. 5, 2021 EDITOR: Jason Freund • sports@thedailyaztec.com

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Aztecs handles Towson to move to 4-0

By Jason Freund SPORTS EDITOR

For the first time since the 2017 season, the San Diego State Aztecs’ (4-0) football team has started 4-0.

They did it without senior running back Greg Bell or senior defensive back Tayler Hawkins — a testament to the team’s depth and resilience.

After Bell left with an injury in the first quarter, three Aztec running backs finished with over 70 rushing yards and combined for four touchdowns as SDSU torched the Towson Tigers (1-3) 48-21 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.

After the game, head coach Brady Hoke noted that, while his team was sluggish out of the gate, they were able to respond well in the victory.

“I think when you look at Towson (University), they’re a good football team. And they’ve got some very good players and they’re well-coached,” Hoke said. “I thought we were a little sluggish, not bad, but a little bit to start the football game, but

Photo by Andrew Finley

Senior running back Jordan Byrd rushed seven time for 75 yards and two touchdowns against Towson. Byrd is part of the very deep running-back group at SDSU.

San Diego State’s captains walking out of the tunnel against Towson to the prepare for the coin toss.

I like how we responded.”

For a moment, it seemed like the Tigers were brewing an upset as the Aztecs stalled out of the gate. Graduate quarterback Chris Ferguson — after completing a 49-yard pass to junior receiver Daniel Thompson IV— led his team to the endzone on a 19- yard dump pass to graduate running back Jerry Howard Jr.

But SDSU didn’t falter or panic when the senior back went down. Instead, a threeman tag team of seniors Chance Bell, Kaegun Williams and Jordan Byrd trampled the Tigers to the tune of 230 combined yards.

Despite gaining 51 yards of offense in the first quarter, the Scarlet and Black still tied the game on a six-yard touchdown by Williams.

In regards to his team’s performance in the first quarter, Hoke’s message to his team was simple: play better.

“You know, it’s part of getting your team and kicking them in the butt and going out and playing the way they’re capable,” Hoke said.

SDSU roared to life in the second quarter with an 11-play, 90-yard drive capped off by Byrd, who bounced outside and dove past the pylon for a 12-yard score.

The following drive, senior quarterback Lucas Johnson — starting for a second

Photo by Noelani Saplan

consecutive time after fellow senior Jordan Brookshire’s injury — threw an impressive fade pass to senior receiver Elijah Kothe in the back of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown.

It also helps that the defense — after some quick adjustments — grinded Towson’s offense to a near halt. Senior defensive lineman Jonah Tavai and junior lineman Cameron Thomas had a sack apiece while the defense as a whole had seven tackles for loss along with five quarterback hurries.

Junior safety Patrick McMorris — who led the team with eight total tackles — said his defense played like Aztecs in the second half after a slow start.

“I thought we came out a little slow. But coming into the second half, we played like Aztecs,” McMorris said. “We were playing fast. We were getting to the QB. We were breaking up passes. And we were just playing like I said, like we were just playing like Aztecs.”

Without Hawkins patrolling the secondary, it was up to a pair of freshmen in Noah Avinger and Noah Tumblin to shut down the Tigers’ receivers. And what a job they did. Tumblin was second on the team in tackles with four while Avinger posted three tackles, a pass break up and snagged a one-handed interception — likely an early

contender for play of the year for SDSU football.

The freshman defensive back’s play caught the attention of the junior DB. After the game, McMorris praised both the freshmen and the secondary for their performances.

“I felt like Noah Avinger and Noah Tumblin came out and did what they had to do,” McMorris said. “Avinger had a pick, it was very crucial. It was a great pick too. I just felt like as a DB and as a DB room, we came in and played fast.

Byrd’s 55-yard touchdown run— his fourth touchdown in four games — a 48-yard field goal by junior Matt Araiza, Chance Bell’s 61-yard dash and ensuing one-yard touchdown all but assured Towson was not getting back into the game

A running back by committee is certainly a possibility, especially if Greg Bell continues to be slowed down by injuries.

“Greg’s a great athlete and we’re definitely going to need him for the long haul so it was tough kind of seeing that,” Chance Bell said. “(But) like we preach around here, it’s always next man up you know. You never know what you do, your role can change in one play.”

The Aztecs couldn’t have asked for a better start, especially with how the rest of the Mountain West Conference is shaping up. Fresno State is ranked No. 18 by the Associated Press and is 4-1 in the West Division while Wyoming — in the Mountain Division — has also started off 4-0.

The Aztecs will dodge the Cowboys this year, but a match against the Bulldogs in Carson is still in the cards. Now factor in a potential trap game against Air Force (3- 1,0-1 MWC), a flight to Honolulu to take on Hawai’i (2-3, 0-1 MWC) and home showdowns against Nevada (2-1) and Boise State (2-2, 1-0).

All of a sudden, that 4-0 start just became a lot more important.

Thankfully for SDSU, their bye week has come up at the most convenient of times. The Aztecs will be off this week before returning to Carson to begin conference play against the New Mexico Lobos (2-2).

Column: Cross Country is far from track

By Daniela Ramirez STAFF WRITER

When most people hear about cross country, they think of runners going around the track. People believe that the sport is the same as track and field.

“Cross country and track are two completely different sports,” junior Jessica Kain said.

The Aztecs headed to Mission Bay for the USD invitational on Sept. 17. This was the first race of the season for seniors Paige Comiso and Natalie Regalado, as well as junior Alex Lomeli.

Running along the Tecolote Shores made for a scenic race on a sunny Friday afternoon.

The Aztec runners run a four mile race on a new course every week. Races can be on dirt, grass and even city sidewalks.

“Cross country is not on a flat surface, and it (has) uneven terrain, “Coach Lusitiana said. “Conditions are completely different.”

Although cross country and track both consist of running, the two sports are very different. Track and field has field events such as jumps, hurdles and throws.

Track and field consists of long, short and midddle distance running. Many cross country runners go into track as a long or middle distance runner.

“There is distance within track, it isn’t just sprinting,” Lomeli said. “We’re also included

in track.”

Cross country is only a long distance sport. Racing distances can vary from two to four miles. There are no other events added within the sport unlike track and field.

Team scoring in the two sports is different as well. In cross country, every athlete counts. The top five to seven runners are counted as the number they are placed, first place is one point, while 25th place is 25 points. The team with the lowest combined score wins the meet.

In track and field, only the top three from each race gets counted for that event. When only two teams compete, first place is three

San Diego State cross country runners line up before the Anteater Invitational on Sept. 1

points, second place gets two points, and third place gets one point. The team with the most points wins.

Cross country teams are more dependent on each individual runner as opposed to track and field. The sport is a team effort.

“Cross country is more team oriented, the numbers in the race really matter,” junior Lauren Harper said. “Track is more focused on your individual race.”

Running in all sports can be physically and mentally challenging. Running for miles can be grueling, especially when you’re alone.

In track, athletes are surrounded by other runners in close proximity, with fans in

Photo By SDSU Athletics

the stands as well. Cross country races can take place anywhere.

“You have the energy from the track, while cross country is more mentally exhausting because you’re alone somewhere,” Kain said.

Digging deep within an athlete’s mind to find the strength to continue on for four miles is what cross country is all about. Debatably one of the hardest sports when it comes to having the strength within yourself to keep going.

Lusitiana says it’s not about who’s the fastest but about who can focus when it gets difficult.

“Cross country is much harder than track,”Lusitiana said.

During the tough times of running, looking for support from each other is very important to the team. Running for miles side by side creates a bond like no other sport.

“We train six days a week with each other, so we’re a tight group of girls,” Paige Comiso said.

Women’s cross country placed fourth out of eight teams at the Stump Invitation on Sept. 10 and participated in the Cougar Challenge 6K at Cal State San Marcos on Sept. 25. Sophomore Alex Lomeli placed 13 out of 139 runners while running a career best 21:42.5. The team did not qualify to recieve a team score due to the Aztecs not having enough runners to do so. The Scarlet and Black head to Tucson Ariz. to run in the Dave Murray Classic.

Sept. 29 - Oct. 5, 2021

6 The Daily Aztec

Sports

EDITOR: Jason Freund • sports@thedailyaztec.com

Men’s soccer shuts out Gonzaga Bulldogs and remains undefeated

By Davis Ramage CONTRIBUTOR

The No. 14 San Diego State Aztecs (7-0- 2, 2-0-0) defeated the unranked Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-4) 2-0 with goals from senior midfielder Laukoa Santos and sophomore midfielder Andre Ochoa at the SDSU Sports Deck on Friday Sept. 24.

The Aztecs got off to a flying start as Santos netted a ball that fell right to his feet

off a deflection in the third minute. A little over two minutes later, team captain Andre Ochoa finished a deflection off the Bulldog goalkeeper to put the Aztecs up 2-0 early. Senior forward Tevenn Roux was credited with both assists.

“It felt good (scoring so early), we’ve been having pretty good starts recently,” Santos said. “It felt good to get on the score sheet again, it’s been since UNLV my sophomore year.”

This win keeps the Aztecs undefeated and gives them their fifth win in a row, all being shutouts. The loss for the Bulldogs is their first time being shut out all year and can be attributed to the high press defense employed by head coach Ryan Hopkins.

The Aztecs allowed zero shots in the first half, and when Hopkins described the effort that went into achieving this.

“I attribute it to the whole team,” Hopkins said. “You can see how high we press,

Photo by SDSU Athletics Senior midfielder Laukoa Santos lets out a yell in celebration in the Aztecs victory against Gonzaga. The win makes it nine straight games without a loss for SDSU.

how much we make the attackers work - and then the backline does their job, and we’ve got an unbelievable goalkeeper (sophomore Jacob Castro) when we need him to do something.”

The unbelievable goalkeeper mentioned by Hopkins is last week’s Pac-12 player of the week, sophomore goalkeeper Jacob Castro. Castro leads the nation in both shutouts (six) and save percentage (96.3%). The Pac-12 saves leader was only forced to make one stop against the Zags.

“It’s just everybody, everyone’s belief in the system, everyone’s belief in working hard for each other, and understanding what it takes to win,” Hopkins said about not allowing a first-half goal all year.

The Aztec press was visibly frustrating the Zags in the first half with multiple Aztecs swarming to the ball each time the Bulldogs had possession. Gonzaga started to get more comfortable with the press in the second half, but still only managed to put up one shot on goal and one corner.

The only shot for the Zags came 28 seconds into the second half, leading to the first time Gonzaga fans had something to cheer about.

From there, it was smooth sailing for the Scarlet and Black, holding the majority of the possession for the remainder of the half and protecting the early lead provided by Santos and Ochoa.

“The training method coach has us going through, constantly just working on patterns and building relationships,” said Santos on what leads to such fluency in the Aztec attacks.

The Aztecs members said they hope to keep up this great chemistry and extend this historic undefeated streak in what should be a top ten battle next Thursday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. in Seattle against No. 3 Washington.

Women’s soccer starts 1-1 against conference foes

By Adam Correa and Taylor Harris STAFF WRITER, CONTRIBUTOR

San Diego State Women’s Soccer team starts 1-1 in Mountain West play over the weekend. Here’s how they stacked up.

Friday, Sept. 24 - SDSU at Colorado State University

SDSU women’s soccer battled against No.3 UCLA Sept. 19 on the SDSU Sports Deck.

The Aztecs (3-6-0, 1-0-0) defeated Colorado State (1-3-2, 0-1-0) 1-0 in their first Mountain West Conference game. The lone goal was scored by freshman forward Alexys Ocampo late in the first half.

Ocampo, senior midfielder Daniela Filipovic and senior forward Anna Toohey stood out for SDSU. Ocampo came in for sophomore forward Emma Gaines-Ramos in the 26th minute and brought a lot of determination to the field.

In the 43rd minute, the ball was kicked in front of the Rams goal where senior midfielder Laura Fuentes’s shot attempt was blocked. The deflection came to Ocampo and she buried it top right corner for her first goal of the season to make the score 1-0. Ocampo ended up with two shots on goal in the game.

Filipovic said she was impressive with her ball movement and corner kicks in the second half. She said her corner kicks were placed perfectly in front of the Rams goal but her teammates would fail to capitalize.

Toohey had four shots in the game and two of those were on net. Toohey had a breakaway chance in the 75th minute and her shot was stopped by the Rams goalkeeper.

She had very good ball movement throughout the game with very few turnovers.

The pressure was even in the first half but the Scarlet and Black would assert their dominance in the second half. The Aztecs defense was impressive throughout the game with limited giveaways and solid passing.

The Aztecs had a total of six shots on goal to the Rams two.

Sunday, Sept. 26 - SDSU at Wyoming

San Diego State Aztecs (3-7-0, 1-1-0) lost 3-1 to Wyoming State Cowboys (5-4-1, 1-1-0) on Sunday afternoon, their second MWC opponent.

The Cowboys started the game off strong with redshirt junior midfielder Jamie Tatum scoring the first goal in the 18th minute. The Aztecs shortly followed suit,

tying the game in the 31st minute with a goal by junior forward Rachelle Elve, who was assisted by Filipovic.

The Cowboys quickly retook the lead with senior defender Savannah Warner scoring the second goal in the 36th minute. Wyoming increased their lead with a third goal being scored in the 48th minute by sophomore forward Alyssa Bedard.

Despite the three goals that made it into the net, sophomore goalkeeper Alexa Madueno made four big saves to keep the Cowboys from gaining a larger lead.

Senior defender Lauren Dicus had an amazing save on goal in the 78th minute after Madueno stepped out of the box to defend the ball. The ball was blocked by Madueno and then shot in the top right corner. Dicus was able to head out the ball in time, keeping the Cowboys from gaining a 4-1 lead.

Castro had the most shots this game with

Photo by Adam Correa

a total of four. While only one shot out of the four was on goal, Castro played strong throughout her time on the field, working hard to move the ball up the field.

Junior defender Claire Watkins applied pressure to the Cowboys until the last seconds of the game, having the final shot of the game in the 89th minute.

Both teams faced multiple yellow cards during the game for unsporting behavior with the Aztecs receiving three total yellow cards to the Cowboys’ two.

Wyoming ultimately brought the pressure this game while staying composed and organized the entire 90 minutes, which allowed them to attack the Aztec defense.

The Aztecs had a total of eight shots on goal to the Cowboys’ 16.

The next Aztec Women’s Soccer match will be against Boise State (their third Mountain West team) on Friday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. at the SDSU Sports Deck.