SAN DIEGO – Top-seeded San Diego State used a pair of second-half goals to defeat fifth-seeded Colorado College, 2-0, in the semifinals of the 2015 Mountain West Women’s Soccer Championship at SDSU Sports Deck Thursday night. With the win, the Aztecs secured a spot in the MW title game vs. San José State on Saturday night.

 

“We are pretty excited about the chance to play for another championship, the fourth one in four years, which is an unbelievable feeling,” head coach Mike Friesen said. “I thought we did a really nice job tonight of possessing the ball, keeping it and at the right moments trying to play little more direct when we had to.

 

“Colorado College had a nice game plan to try to limit the space we had in the middle of the field so I thought we did a nice job of adapting to that and creating chances where we needed to,” Friesen added. “It took a funky goal to get it started and then I thought the second goal was really nice that Dani (DeRosa) finished off at the back post. We are excited and have to get ready for San José State.”

 

The aforementioned funky goal came in the 71^st minute off the foot of Zsuria Phare. The junior took a hard-angled shot from 25 yards along the right flank and snuck her shot inside the far post to give the Aztecs all the scoring they would need. The unassisted goal was her second of the year.

 

Then for good measure, San Diego State added an insurance goal in the 85^th minute. Victoria Barba sent a ball into the box where Aliyah Utush flicked it to the far post. DeRosa, who came rushing into the area, finished the play to post her third goal of the season. For Utush, the assist was her sixth, and for Barba, it was her third of 2015.

 

SDSU (15-4), which has won 11 straight games, outshot Colorado College (9-12-1), 15-8, and had a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Aztecs also took more corner kicks than the Tigers (6-2).

 

Nine of San Diego State’s shot came from the trio of Barba, Utush and Milan Moses, who each had three apiece. Melanie Vaughn anchored a defense that posted its ninth shutout of the year with two saves. Individually, the clean sheet was Vaughn’s eighth of the year, giving her 25.5 for her career, just one-half shutout shy of the school record (Aubree Southwick – 26).

 

The Aztecs, who are appearing in their seventh MW title game, are vying for their fourth straight Mountain West tournament championship. With a victory Saturday, San Diego State will become the first MW program in any sport to win four consecutive Mountain West regular-season and tournament crowns. A win will also solidify the school’s fifth overall MW tournament title.

 

SDSU is facing the regular-season runner-up and No. 2 seed in the tournament in the Spartans. The 1 vs. 2 match-up will mark the third time in the last four years, and eighth time overall, the top two seeds will compete for the MW trophy.

 

The teams will square off on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT atop SDSU Sports Deck. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for youth, students with ID and groups. For the group rate, fans must call the Aztec ticket office on Friday during normal business hours at (619) 283-7378. The contest will also stream live at GoAztecs.com via the Mountain West Network.