SAN DIEGO – No. 21 San Diego State earned its eighth straight victory by defeating visiting Utah State, 2-1, Friday night at SDSU Sports Deck. The Aztecs moved to 12-2-1 overall and 7-0 in the Mountain West, while the Aggies fell to 8-5-2 and 4-2-1 against league foes.

 

“We’re happy with the result,” SDSU head coach Mike Friesen said. “I thought we played well for the first 70 minutes. Give credit to Utah State for not quitting and getting a goal to make it difficult for us down the stretch. I don’t think we did a very good job of managing the end of the game, but we did get the result. We will regroup and get back after it on Sunday (vs. Boise State). Sometimes you have to go through some struggles to get better, so hopefully we’ll get better from it.”

 

The Mountain West leaders controlled the action from the outset as they recorded their first shot, an attempt that sailed high by Hannah Keane, just 1 minute, 59 seconds into the game. Over the next six-plus minutes, San Diego State took three more shots and added a pair of corner kicks, and nearly took a 1-0 lead in the 10^th minute when Keane’s blast caromed off the crossbar.

 

SDSU continued to force the action and was later rewarded in the 21^st minute when Katie Perry pushed the ball ahead to Aliyah Utush. The freshman used her speed to beat a pair of defenders and ultimately cut inside where she slotted her shot into the lower left corner to lift the Aztecs to a one-goal lead. The goal was Utush’s fourth of the season, while Perry notched assist No. 4 of the year.

 

San Diego State nearly connected for a pair of goals in the final 13 minutes, but each shot was just off the mark. In the 33^rd minute, off a Kelsey Booth corner kick, Angela Mitchell’s header attempt through traffic was stopped by Aggie goalkeeper Jeannie Woller and Booth’s shot with 19 seconds left in the half bounced off the left post.

 

The Aztecs continued to press forward as the game moved to the second half and added to their lead in the 52^nd minute. A loose ball out toward the top of the box led to Woller and Keane converging on the ball. Woller dove headfirst to make the stop, but Keane chipped it over the Utah State keeper and finished the shot with authority to log her fourth goal of the season.

 

SDSU appeared to be in control of the game until the tide changed in the 75^th minute when Wesley Hamblin came streaking down the right side of the pitch and fed Lexie Morgan. The Aggie midfielder then fired off a shot that hit the crossbar initially before crossing the goal line to give her a team-best four goals on the year.

 

With its deficit cut in half, Utah State played the role of aggressor and it nearly paid off on two different occasions. Twice the Aggies had virtual clean looks, but last-second efforts by the San Diego State backline thwarted each attempt as the Aztecs emerged with their 12^th home MW regular-season win in their last 12 tries since the start of the 2012 campaign.

 

At 7-0 in the Mountain West, SDSU also matched its best start to a league season in school history, equaling the 2012 squad that posted a 7-0 MW record. That year, which only featured seven conference games, saw the Aztecs finish with a 21-2-1 record after reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. San Diego State also improved to 17-1-3 at home vs. Mountain West schools in the regular season since 2009 with the decision.

 

The Aztecs finished the game with a 15-7 advantage in shots and had more shots on goal than the Aggies (5-2). SDSU also enjoyed a 3-1 edge in corner kicks.

 

Individually for San Diego State, Keane led all players with five shots, including a game-best two on net. Other Aztecs to post multiple shots include, Booth, Perry and Mitchell, who each had a pair. Goalkeeper Melanie Vaughn, meanwhile, made one save in collecting her 11^th win.

 

San Diego State returns to action on Sunday morning when it plays host to Boise State. First tap at SDSU Sport Deck is slated for 11:30 a.m. PT and the contest will stream live online at GoAztecs.com via the Mountain West Network. Admission to the game is free.